Ipswich Town have turned down a £2.75million offer from Birmingham City for star goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski.
The Pole, who remains on holiday having been at the World Cup with Poland this summer, is entering the final 12 months of his contract and has been the subject of transfer interest during the close season.
Birmingham have been heavily linked with a move for the Pole in recent days, with the club now turning down an offer for his services. That offer is believed to be from Garry Monk’s Birmingham.
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It now seems unlikely the St Andrew’s side will return with a further offer for Bialkowski, with the club now reported to have been placed under a transfer embargo related to the 13 deals they did last summer.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper has won the club’s player-of the-year award in each of the last three seasons, with the Blues understood to be keen to do all they can to secure his future long-term.
New manager Paul Hurst made contact with Bialkowski prior to the start of the World Cup, with contract talks now likely once he returns.
Former Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy announced in January that the Pole had agreed a new contract at Portman Road to the summer of 2020, but that deal has never been signed, with Bialkowski insisting there were issues which needed ironing out.
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He has repeatedly insisted he and his family are happy in Suffolk, saying prior to the World Cup that he is excited to be part of a new era at Portman Road.
“And so am I,” Bialkowski replied, when asked if he shared supporters’ excitement following Hurst’s appointment.
“I’m excited about it and I’m sure I will be ready when I come back.
“He texted me a couple of days ago and I told him I am looking forward to working with him.
“I’m really looking forward to it.”
MORE: ‘He texted me and I told him I’m looking forward to working with him’ - Bialkowski on Hurst
The process of identifying a potential replacement is underway, though, with Rangers goalkeeper Wes Foderingham sounded out.
Twenty-seven-year-old Foderingham has been told he is third choice goalkeeper at Ibrox by new manager Steven Gerrard, despite having been the club’s No.1 since moving north of the border in the summer of 2015.
National reports have also linked the Blues with a move for Bolton goalkeeper Ben Amos, who spent last season in League One on loan at a Charlton side knocked out of the play-offs by Hurst’s Shrewsbury.
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