SAM Parkin will today choose between Luton Town and Preston North End after Ipswich Town accepted offers from both clubs that could eventually fetch them more than £400,000.

By Derek Davis

SAM Parkin will today choose between Luton Town and Preston North End after Ipswich Town accepted offers from both clubs that could eventually fetch them more than £400,000.

While Blues boss Jim Magilton is resigned to losing the 25-year-old striker, he is considering signing Bulgarian international full-back Ivaylo Petkov, to shore up his leaky defence. Parkin, who has been given a hard time by sections of the Portman Road crowd, is likely to accept the move after being given permission to talk personal terms with the rival Championship clubs.

The EADT can reveal that both Luton and Preston tabled bids of an initial down payment of around £250,000 with the rest coming in various add-ons, as Town look to recover what they paid out for him.

Coventry City were the first club to show their hand with a £100,000 up front offer with a further £100,000 to follow.

Brighton then made a move with the lure of a player swap too but that came to nothing.

Parkin joined the Blues in a deal worth £550,000 from Swindon Town where he had established himself as a free-scoring striker with a good reputation.

But Parkin struggled in home matches for Ipswich with the crowd getting on his back and produced his best displays away from home where he scored five goals in 11 outings before an ankle injury kept him out for the most of the rest of the season.

The cash will be added to manager Jim Magilton's war chest with left-back Petkov the most likely new signing after spending the week with the Blues on trial.

Petkov has been capped 64 times by Bulgaria and played in the 1998 World Cup finals in France. The 30-year-old is a free agent after leaving Turkish side Ankaragucu. He has previously played for Fenerbahce.

He recently had a trial with Celtic and Galatasaray, and Willem II and Hertha Berlin have expressed an interest in the 30-year-old.

Meanwhile, Magilton is looking to bring in another striker with Crystal Palace's Jon Macken one of those he is considering as a possible loan deal.

Macken played for Palace Reserves against Aldershot Reserves at Bromley's Hayes Lane last night.

Magilton was not at that game, or the Town Reserves match, as he was in Belfast working with Irish radio covering Northern Ireland's friendly against Finland, who had Shefki Kuqi on the subs bench.

Adam Proudlock, who had a spell with Ipswich last season, has signed on a non-contract basis with Stockport County.