Ipswich Town manager Paul Hurst reacted with a smile when he was told Curtis Tilt did not feature for Blackpool this afternoon.
The Tangerines defender remained on the bench during his side’s 1-1 draw at Crewe, and it’s understood the two clubs have stayed in close contact regarding the 26-year-old centre back.
The Blues have previously had two bids rejected up to a level close to £600,000, with Blackpool originally believed to have put a £1million price tag on the defender’s head. But the two sides are thought to have edged closer regarding a potential fee in recent days.
“Didn’t he? I wasn’t aware of that but I’m smiling, so hopefully that’s good news,” Hurst said, when told Tilt had not played.
Blackpool boss Gary Bowyer, who was seen having a private conversation with Tilt following today’s game at Gresty Road, insisted the defender’s future was out of his hands.
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“That’s a question you’ll have to ask someone else at the football club. It’s not down to me on that,” Bowyer said
“The boy has been fantastic all pre-season and he’s had a wonderful year with us.
“I just felt today he was a little bit tired and a little bit frustrated, but we’ll see what next week brings.”
Hurst, who confirmed he has multiple bids in for players as he looks to add to his squad, was asked how close the side which started against West Ham was to the one which will take the field against Blackburn.
“Good question,” he replied. “I’m not sure I can give you a totally honest answer on that because clearly we’re going to look to do some business in the coming week which may influence that starting line-up.
“A couple of the lads on the bench would certainly come into consideration but, in all truth, we probably haven’t got too many to select from.
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“When you look at our midfield today I thought they all did alright at times, but that’s a massive ask for all of those three lads to start in a Championship game, or certainly to play consecutively.
“They conducted themselves really well though and it was pleasing to get Trevoh (Chalobah) out there. I thought in the short space of time he was on he showed some good quality.
“I’m not just trying to keep you guessing. Let’s just see what the next week brings.
“With all due respect to ourselves I think everyone knows we’re not one of the big hitters, big spenders and we don’t have the luxury of the Premier League parachute payments.
“We have to do what’s right for the us and conduct our business where we can.
“I big part of my job is to try and find players not on everyone’s radar or people I feel can step up, where others might think otherwise.”
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