Town will need to stump up money

By Derek Davis

IPSWICH Town will have to stump up nearly £1million if they want to land Hibs defender Rob Jones.

The Scottish Premier League side have already rejected a bid in excess of £400,000 by Leeds United for the 27-year-old and value the player at between £750,000-£1m.

Former Hibs boss Tony Mowbray paid Grimsby around £150,000 for Jones, who has another three years left on his Easter Road contract and he has subsequently been made skipper.

The Blues were first linked with Jones in the summer and manager Jim Magilton went to take a closer look at him as he played his part in Hibs' 3-2 win over Celtic on Sunday.

As Jones plays 'abroad' he would not be able to play for Town until January even if they were able to buy him and he would not be allowed to join on loan until the new year.

Magilton has made no secret that he is on the look-out for a central defender and after missing out on Cesar Navas has tried to get in a loan player.

Other targets to have gone elsewhere include West Ham's Christian Dailly, who went to Southampton on loan, and Michael Johnson, who switched from Derby County to Sheffield Wednesday.

The search is stretching far and wide for new recruits and Steve McCall has hailed his trip to Poland a success after watching a host of players and building contacts.

McCall reported back on Monday after taking in four matches, including a UEFA Cup match.

He said: “Poland is a country that seems to be producing players so I have been there for a few days to have a look.

“There were no specific targets as such. It was a fact-finding mission to check out the general standard, take in as many games as I could and build up contacts and it was a good trip.”

Earlier in the season McCall visited the Czech Republic to cast his eye over a couple of players.