Paul Jewell is preparing for a busy January transfer window

The Blues boss has built up a big wage bill bringing 14 players to the club since the end of last season, yet the team heads into Monday’s Boxing Day clash at Leicester occupying the same 19th place spot in the Championship table which they did at the start of 2011.

With 16 players in the final year of their contracts, Jewell may decide to cash in on the likes of Grant Leadbitter, Jason Scotland and Carlos Edwards rather than risk losing them for nothing in the summer.

Keeper David Stockdale and centre-back Danny Collins have both seen loan spells at the club end recently, while nine-goal midfielder and stand-in skipper Keith Andrews will be going back to parent club Blackburn in three games’ time.

That would leave Jewell will plenty of replacements to find amidst a gruelling six-game month which could well determine which end of the table Town are fighting come April.

Jewell – who insists he is after young players for the future following an influx of experience – said: “We’ve got good players, but I think we still need to strengthen in certain areas of the squad – every manager says that.

“Some people might leave, others might come in, that’s how football works; it evolve, things are always on the move.

“All of a sudden people ring out the blue and a deal can get done that you didn’t see coming. We have made a couple of enquiries, that’s what happens in the football world.”

Jewell travelled to Holland recently to watch an Eredivisie game between Den Haag and Heracles alongside the club’s former Dutch midfielder Romeo Zondervan.

“To be honest the tempo of the game was so slow that you couldn’t compare it to a Championship game,” said Jewell. “We’re widening our scouting network though and we’ll definitely be taking more trips out abroad.

“I was at Southend last week with my Bradford scarf on too (for a League Two game). I think it’s important that we take in all sorts of games, whether it be division one, division two, the Championship, reserve games, Holland, Germany; everywhere.”

– For live updates from Ipswich’s Boxing Day match at Leicester, follow @Stuart_Watson and @davegoods on Twitter.