BLUES boss Jim Magilton is today preparing to make a fourth bid for a player.With it looking increasingly unlikely that Town are going to land Plymouth skipper David Norris - for a host of reasons - Magilton is ready to move to plan B.

Derek Davis

BLUES boss Jim Magilton is today preparing to make a fourth bid for a player.

With it looking increasingly unlikely that Town are going to land Plymouth skipper David Norris - for a host of reasons - Magilton is ready to move to plan B.

Argyle rejected an initial bid of more than £1m for Norris and are holding out for as near to £2m as they can get, with Norwich also interested in the player.

The board need to get as much as they can as they have to pay Bolton 50% of any transfer fee as part of the deal that took him to Home Park.

Apart from the Canaries, Southampton are also keen although Leicester are losing interest after signing Matt Oakley from Derby.

Norris is also uncertain about what to do after being offered a new deal by the Pilgrims and may not make a decision one way or the other until the summer.

Plymouth fans are up in arms about losing so many players already and to lose their captain would provoke mutiny in the dockyard city.

Magilton has made bids for two other players with Leicester City rejecting his offer for centre-half Gareth McAuley and the Town boss has still not yet decided if he wants to make a second offer.

One option open to him over the weekend was the possibility of taking Jack Hobbs on loan from Liverpool but with Daniel Agger suffering a relapse of a foot injury the Reds are no longer keen to let their former youth team skipper leave.

Town's third bid for a player is still up in the air but he is not a midfielder so Town will not wait to see what happens there and will go after their next in line.

Among those midfielders linked are Blackpool's Wes Hoolahan, Wayne Routledge - a £1.8m target for QPR - and Paul Parry, who Cardiff have given a £1m price tag.

While Town continue their search to bring new players in during the last fortnight of the transfer market, when traditionally most business is done, players could still be leaving Portman Road, although no fresh bids have been made.

That includes any offers from West Ham with Magilton dismissing reports linking them with Danny Haynes.

The Blues are still giving players trials, though, with 29-year-old Portuguese left-sided player Ricardo Fernandes from Apoel Nicosia this week training with Town.