DERBY County striker Steve Davies is on Ipswich Town manager Paul Jewell’s wanted list – though the Blues boss is yet to make a firm offer.

Reports yesterday suggested that Town have already lodged a �500,000 bid for the transfer-listed front man, with Rams boss Nigel Clough holding out for a fee of closer to �1m for his wantaway star.

However, the EADT and Ipswich Star understands that while Jewell has put the 24-year-old towards the top of his transfer wish list, he has so far only tested the water with a tentative enquiry.

Davies certainly ticks a number of boxes in that he is a goalscorer, versatile, still relatively young and, most importantly, available.

Despite the fact that the Rams activated a clause which entitled them to extend the striker’s contract by an extra year at the end of the season just gone, the striker soon put in a transfer request citing ‘genuine family reasons’. County boss Clough is now looking to cash in on the player rather than risk losing him for nothing next summer.

Jewell is keen to strengthen a strike force which currently only consists of Michael Chopra, Jason Scotland – who looks set to sign a new deal – and youngster Ronan Murray.

And the Blues boss is a known admirer of Davies having brought the fellow Liverpudlian to Pride Park for a potential tribunal fee of �725,000 from Tranmere Rovers in 2008.

A succession of serious injuries, including a fractured skull and cruciate knee ligament damage, has limited Davies to little more than 50 starts during his four seasons at the club. He has still become a fans’ favourite though, scoring 21 goals – 12 of which came last season.

Although 6ft 1in tall, Davies is much more than just a target man and has a good all-round game, possessing the ability to score a variety of different goals. His ability to play on the left of midfield – an area vacated by departing loanee Daryl Murphy – could also prove attractive to Jewell.

It’s understood that the Blues boss has held discussions with West Ham about the possibility of taking Sam Baldock on a season-long loan, though London-based Championship rivals Crystal Palace and Charlton are also said to be interested.