AFC Wimbledon manager Johnnie Jackson has confirmed Ipswich Town’s interest in Ali Al-Hamadi and admitted it’s 'head-turning' for the striker.

The EADT and Ipswich Star exclusively revealed that the Blues were trying to thrash out a deal for the League Two hotshot earlier this week.

It's understood that Ipswich have made a big in excess of £1m for the 21-year-old, who is currently away at the Asian Cup with Iraq, with the Dons reportedly wanting more than £2m.

"There has obviously been big interest in Ali,” said Jackson, speaking to the South London Press after his side’s 2-1 home victory against Mansfield this afternoon.

“He’s away with Iraq, so it’s a difficult one to navigate.

“When you have a player like that doing what he does, he’s going to attract interest. When a club like Ipswich come in, it’s obviously head-turning for the lad.

“It’s something we’re going to have to navigate in the coming days. I have always wanted to keep him – he’s the best striker in the league.

“But when you have the best striker in the league, clubs who can offer life-changing money come in for you. That changes the landscape completely where the lad is concerned.

“I’d rather you assemble the squad at the end of August and that was you until the end of the season.

“We’re the hunted, aren’t we? We’re not the hunters because of where we’re at. When you have an asset like that, unfortunately, a lot of clubs want to take him – that’s the nature of football.

“A deal has to be done between clubs – it’s not any one thing. We have to see how it pans out over the coming days.

“When a team like that come in and are doing what they’re doing – and can offer you the opportunity to play at a certain level – a team at the top of the Championship, who might be going up the Premier League, is going to be a head-turner.”

Following this afternoon's 2-1 defeat to Maidstone United in the FA Cup, Blues boss Kieran McKenna was asked about his striker search ahead of Thursday's 11pm deadline.

“We want a couple, to be fair,” he replied. “We’ve lost bodies over the course of the transfer window and we needed to add in that area anyway.

“That’s still the target and we’re still hopeful. I’ve said many times, January is a tough window. We have limitations in terms of what we can access but we’re going to work hard as a club to do that over the next few days.”