Ipswich Town remain in negotiations with Blackpool regarding defender Curtis Tilt, with the League One club understood to now be willing to sanction his departure.
The central defender has been a leading target of Blues boss Paul Hurst since he began work at the club in the middle of June, but negotiations with Blackpool proved difficult and no deal was done prior to the closure of the permanent transfer window on August 9.
Tilt handed in a transfer request in a bid to force the move, with the Tangerines thought to want £1million for the 27-year-old, and the Bloomfield Road club are now understood to be willing to sanction a loan move which will be made permanent in January should the Blues meet that asking price.
Ipswich bidding is understood to have reached the £800,000 region earlier this month, with an advance understood to have been made ahead of the deadline for loan deals on August 31.
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As the move for Tilt stalled, the Blues turned their attention to Deji Oshilaja of AFC Wimbledon and submitted a number of ‘substantial’ bids for a player the Dons valued at £750,000. Hurst described that valuation as being ‘too high’ while admitting a loan move would be unlikely.
Speaking at his press conference this afternoon, Hurst suggested he could make three additions prior to the window closing, with a central defender high on the priority list along with a central striker and a wide player.
Hurst once again confirmed his desire to bring in players, admitting clubs are waiting to bring in signings of their own before allowing Ipswich targets to move on.
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“Unfortunately nothing’s changed since we spoke on Tuesday evening,” he said, when asked about potential signings.
“We have another week of questions and me checking my phone.”
The recruitment process has been complicated by the ongoing work permit situation regarding Janoi Donacien, with the defender currently on loan but due to make his move permanent for £750,000 once the issues are resolved.
Hurst revealed the situation is nearing a conclusion, but the Blues boss is hesitant to do three more temporary deals and take the number of loanees over the five allowed in a matchday squad.
“That’s the difficult one,” Hurst said. “I’m told that that situation has moved forward but we haven’t had a definite, ‘right, that’s done’, so it would make it more awkward.
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“That ends up being a decision I have to make. But we’ve got to be able to get the players in first and foremost.”
There is provision for Donacien’s move to become permanent outside of the transfer window, though, with Hurst ideally wanting that to happen in order to avoid having to potentially leave a loan player out of his squad every week.
“If it came to it and the option was there then I’m not saying I wouldn’t (have a sixth loan player) but I’ve said right from the start it’s not an ideal situation,” he said. “I’d prefer not to be in that scenario.
“When we signed Janoi I didn’t expect it to be something that would cause us an issue on that side, so hopefully it can be resolved and he can become a permanent signing.”
Regarding potential loan departures, Hurst said: “No-one’s been in for any of the players on loan currently but it wouldn’t surprise me if we got calls.
“We’ll see if anyone does get in touch.”
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