Town manager Kieran McKenna says Luke Woolfenden, a target of Coventry, Stoke and other Championship sides, is a player he wants to keep at Portman Road but that these situations are never simple.

The Blues rejected an approach from the Sky Blues for the 26-year-old earlier in the week, while the Potters and other Championship clubs are also understood to be keen. Sheffield United, who were interested in January, are not believed to be in the race currently.

Asked about the situation, McKenna said: “I think it’s clear Luke’s someone we’d like to keep. An important player for the club, an important player for the team. A lot of experience now with the group and has worked with us for a long time and is a very good player.

“He’s someone that we’d like to keep. The situations, as I’ve said before, aren’t always simple. There are different parties involved and different wishes involved and it’s been a challenging summer in that respect, there’s no doubt about it.

“I’ve spoken about it before. Probably the most challenging ones are probably the players that have been with us the longest because they’re players that we have a great affinity for, the supporters have a great affinity for, they’ve been part of something really, really special here.

“But we’ve had different situations this summer with the likes of Cameron Burgess in the off-season, Nathan Broadhead in pre-season, Samy Morsy in pre-season, players who have had incredible offers, really life-changing offers probably from a financial point of view that they’ve deserved off of what they’ve done over the last few years here.

“In those situations, it’s always really difficult between us wanting to keep a really strong group together, we’d like quite a few of the players who have been with us on the journey for the last few years to stay here and be part of it.

“But you also want to respect their wishes and you want to have a group come the end of August that all really, really want to be here and want to be here with the right motivation and for the right reasons to try and help the team and, of course, help their own careers as well.

“These situations are always more complicated than just what we want or just what a player would want and we’ll try and find the best solution between what’s going to be the right dynamic for the group, what depth and what quality we need in the squad to achieve what we want to achieve and also what the player’s wishes and wants are and hopefully by the end of August have a really strong and really motivated squad.”

Photo: Matchday Images

Bluecasp added 15:38 - Aug 21 Thats Woolfy on his way then.
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Bazza8564 added 15:39 - Aug 21 Have always been a big fan of Wolfy, he has rarely let us down and hes been with us through thick and thin. That said, every player wants to play and every player has his price.I would be sad to see him leave but if the player wants to go and the fee is generous, the club has to listen
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Smithy63 added 15:39 - Aug 21 Another good player being sold then with no-one to cover at this rate we be another luton
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blueboy1981 added 15:41 - Aug 21 This Club now is now a prime example of how one can go from Euphoria to Depression within a short period of 12 months.
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blueboy1981 added 15:43 - Aug 21 …… whatever Luton can do, it seems we’re trying to exceed !!
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flykickingbybgunn added 15:53 - Aug 21 If Wolfy wants to play every week, improve his wages and his prospects as he sees it, then if the price is right we should let him go. To be fair he is never going to be first choice here any more. Dont want him to go, like I have not with Morsey or Broaders. But it is important not to be seen to stand in his way. Football is all change and a short career. If he wants it, then let him leave with sadness and our thanks.

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itfc2024 added 16:00 - Aug 21 bye bye wolfy it seems another players that's won 2 promotion going i think we have Luton written all over us in hope I'm wrong but we keep getting rid of players without signing anyone to replace
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darkhorse28 added 16:03 - Aug 21 The lack of honesty is palpable. The club is for sale, and the owners would like to move some deprivations assets in to cash, and with no value on the balance sheet - Wolf equates to an improved sales multiple. We don’t need to sell tickets or shirts now, so he can stop misleading long suffering supporters, who have him nothing better support even after agreeing to join Palace, and Brighton. Not really his remit, so Mark should take the pressure off and qualify the situation. Although he clearly avoids difficult situations like the plague. Can’t keep him away when there’s a promotion, pop star, or boxing to take a selfie with. I claim to lifelong supporters what our strategic situation is, and he’s AWOL. ‘We don’t need to sell players’ ‘This is progress’ ‘We have no financial pressure’ Yes. Clearly. 7 best players gone, £80 million raised in a week, and ONE signing who will still be here if we aren’t promoted. It’s a strategic masterclass..,, David Brent has more strategic nous. The gas lighting of hard working supporters is getting to toxic levels now.

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algarvefan added 16:05 - Aug 21 I'm sure he doesn't want to go, but I'm sure he wants to play regularly, I don't blame him for that. I wish I thought both our centre backs were much better than him, but I don't, in the same way I felt about Burgess and Axel. I do feel as though KM has stuck with expensive players he has purchased when their performances do not reflect their selection. These are tough times, I hope Woolfy stays, he deserves to be playing on a more regular basis, maybe with a slight switch in position?

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HighgateBlue added 16:07 - Aug 21 Luton got more points than us in the Premier League. I think we should disabuse ourselves of the idea that we have an automatic right to do any better than them.
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flykickingbybgunn added 16:17 - Aug 21 Dark Horse. Go back to Norfolk.
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Booga484 added 16:20 - Aug 21 Always the same names and always the same moans. "We want new players but we can't let older players go".. Would everyone prefer to keep the same 25 players until they're ready to retire? I rate Woolfy, but he's a classic example of the ingrained "short passes around the defence and keeper" that gives us all kittens! Every imcoming signing in the past 14 months has been quality. People moan about Clarke, but he's not being used how Sunderland used him. Same with Szmodics and Blackburn. Ogbene and Philogene have both had injuries to keep them out of the team too. All these players, when fit and played in their actual best positions, will beat any team ranked from bottom half of the PL, down to the lower echelons of English football. We're not the "family" club from the Cobbold days, nor are we the European winners of our parents teenage years. Football is now a business. We are effectively a company. The club will do whatever to make profits. As long as it doesn't go down the dark ME route, we just have to accept it. And grow up..

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tractorfromongar added 16:21 - Aug 21 McKenna is starting to sound more like a politician than a football manager
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GTRKing added 16:26 - Aug 21 Wolfy won’t go he loves it here! Let’s see what happens be sad to see him go! Always played really well when he is on the pitch!
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Jbarrrell added 16:32 - Aug 21 *sigh*. Not another one :(((
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WorcesterBlue added 16:49 - Aug 21 "Every imcoming signing in the past 14 months has been quality" - really? On paper maybe but not in reality - it was clear we needed to sign improvements on what we had who had the physical and technical abilities to challenge in the prem (including in central midfield) and we failed on all fronts except Delap and possibly O'Shea. Greaves better than Wolfie or Burgess? Ogbene better than Burns? Szmodics better than Chaplin? Clarke better than Broady. Johnson better than H Clarke? And don't get me started on the keepers. Philogene potentially an improvement but not currently. Yes these are close calls and we could argue either way but they have not been clear improvements. Seems to me we purchased players more for their resale value than their ability to compete here and now to help establish ourselves in the Premiership. And now we pay the price of upsetting the many good players who were not played leaving us with huge gaps and some really important players both on and off the pitch. .

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BlueArmy999 added 16:59 - Aug 21 Moron brigade out in force again. Woolfy is one of our own, home grown talent is rare these days and we all love woolfy being a Ipswich lad. However, in term of his footballing ability, he has improved a lot under McKenna, still a mistake in him which can cost games, doesn’t mean to say other players don’t make mistakes. Clearly O’Shea and Greaves are first choice CB, Woolfy wants game time and he’s not gonna get that here unless injuries or suspension. We have young Elkan Baggot coming through the ranks also. Again if Woolfy wants to leave on loan or permanent that’s up to him and the club but we need to build a squad who want to be here, who want to play for the badge, which I’m sure woolfy does, but when you have team members who want out it disrupts the rest of the group. As for some of the comments here it never ceases to amaze me how many morons support this club, people talking about McKenna the politician, we’re gonna do a Luton …. Get s group of yourselves you utter clowns.

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BlueArmy999 added 17:02 - Aug 21 Worcesterblue - If I were you I’d stick your CV in to the club and help McKenna out with all these sh1t signings that he’s made that you speak off.
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Nottsblue66 added 17:05 - Aug 21 I’m getting fed up with M.A & McKenna selling players when we are short any way I don’t know what’s going off behind the scenes but something ain’t right Not long untill transfer window closes we need about 4/5 players but I’m not confident I feel dabs are starting to turn against the manager If we don’t win next 2 games then I feel it will turn ugly
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Portman_Pie added 17:25 - Aug 21 It's of little surprise to me to be honest. Some of the key men who secured the double promotion were cast aside for alleged 'Premiership' players - whom of which realistically 1 - Delap - made the mark. So for Wolfenden, Burgess, Luongo, Broadhead, Burns - if he wasn't injured, Chaplin and Hirst - they were replaced with players of whom baring Delap - were no better - and in some cases worse than what we had. Delap and Hutchinson have paved the way for Hirst and potentially Chaplin to play more - but if it weren't for those two leaving - then it's highly likely Hirst would be off too. I can't blame any of those mentioned therefore - for moving on. Broadhead being told that Philogene & Clarke were starting ahead of him - I'd have been off too...!

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Bert added 17:34 - Aug 21 Wolf knows that he will never be first choice so no surprise he may wish to look elsewhere. More deliberate misrepresentation from dark horse. Shameful.
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Saxonblue74 added 17:38 - Aug 21 When will people ever learn the way the club does business these days? Nothing that's going know in the background will come to light until its a done deal. Does anyone really think MA and KmK would sell and leave us short?
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Bert added 17:59 - Aug 21 In the good old days we didn’t learn of anything until the morning paper. Now we have posters commenting on anything regardless of whether there is any truth in any “story”. More worrying is the deliberate misrepresentation by a handful of posters to feed a personal agenda.
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blues1 added 18:02 - Aug 21 Darkhorse28. Just do 1 will you. Same old diatribe every time up post. Fact is, you havent got a clue. Club is up for sale? Ridiculous. With their ibtebt ti grt the value of thd club up to £1bn by 2030, why would they want to sell now whebmb the club worth well less than half of that. No businessman are you?
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