PAUL Jewell has declined to comment on whether Danny Collins will be moving to Ipswich Town on loan this week.

The Stoke City defender has long been linked with a move to Suffolk and the fact that he was not included in the Premier League’s side’s 25-man squad seemed to suggest that a loan deal was pending.

But ahead of the emergency loan window reopening on Wednesday, Jewell said: “It’s not really my remit to talk about other players. He’s a good player and we did enquire after him. But as I have said on numerous occasions, we have made lots if enquiries.

“We are considering lots of options and I don’t think it is wise for me to talk about other players because if I ring Tony Pullis up, he might get the needle that I spoke about one of his players and if I wanted to do it (sign him), he might not.”

The 31-year-old defender, currently with the Wales squad preparing for tomorrow night’s match with England, was last week left out of Stoke’s squad for the first half of the Premier League.

And a City spokesman confirmed: “[Manager Tony] Pulis’s decision to omit a number of fringe players from his 25-man squad, including Danny Pugh and Danny Collins, reflects his desire to allow them to gain the regular first team football elsewhere by going out on loan.”

It is likely Town would face stiff competition for Collins with Nottingham Forest believed to be among the potential suitors.