IPSWICH Town manager Paul Jewell has revealed he has been knocked back three times this week in his attempts to add new players to his squad.

The Blues boss revealed after last night’s 2-2 draw at non-league club Cambridge United that a second bid for Millwall winger James Henry – who scored a hat-trick against non-league side Dartford last night – had been rejected earlier in the day.

He also confirmed that Cardiff City have told him that midfielder Peter Whittingham is not for sale and that French midfielder Guy Moussi has chosen to resign for Nottingham Forest rather than move to Suffolk.

“We’ve had a second bid for James Henry knocked back by Millwall and they’ve told us he’s not for sale, so that looks dead,” said the Liverpudlian.

“And we thought we were going to sign Moussi, but he’s decided to join Forest.”

When asked about speculation that he was interested in Whittingham, Jewell admitted: “We have asked about him but have been told he’s not for sale either. We know we need to strengthen and are doing everything we can. We’ve managed to keep some things quiet thankfully.”

Chopra may have taken his goal tally to four from three games for Ipswich last night with a smartly taken brace of strikes, but it wasn’t a convincing display from the Suffolk side against Blue Square Premier opposition.

The hosts raced into a two-goal lead within the opening three minutes after two mistakes from Lee Bowyer – who was handed the captain’s armband in the absence of Grant Leadbitter.

Town improved after the break but twice were let off the hook late on as Cambridge missed a glorious chance and also hit the bar.

“It was a very sloppy first 15 minutes for us,” admitted Jewell. “But we showed a bit of character to come back with Chopra’s two goals. He’s provided a real positive spark for us.”

Meanwhile, Jewell confirmed that neither Luca Civelli nor Jaime Peters were carrying injuries after they were left out of the squad last night. Both are likely to feature for an ‘Ipswich Town XI’ at Bury Town tonight (7.45pm).

“We’ve got another game to think about with those two,” said Jewell. “I wouldn’t read into it too much.”

Summer signing Ivar Ingimarsson missed last night’s game with a thigh injury, with Jewell confirming that he won’t rush the Icelandic defender back.

– For more transfer news, keep an eye on this website throughout the day.