Ipswich Town could look to sign Leicester City striker Chris Wood if a deal is reached to sell David McGoldrick to the Foxes ahead of tonight’s 11pm transfer deadline.

Blues boss Mick McCarthy confirmed after Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Derby County that Leicester had made a bid for McGoldrick, but that it had been rejected and that owner Marcus Evans ‘didn’t want to do the deal’.

He did, however, go on to say that he didn’t want to end up with a resentful player on his hands and admitted that it would come down to ‘market forces’, insisting McGoldrick is better than both Ross McCormack (who went from Leeds to Fulham for £11m) and Leonardo Ulloa (who went from Brighton to Leicester for £8m).

It’s understood that the initial rejected offer for McGoldrick was around £6.5m, with the Foxes having had an increased offer also rejected yesterday.

Crystal Palace have also emerged as contenders for McGoldrick’s signature today with new boss Neil Warnock keen to add several new faces to his squad. Reports suggest that the Eagles would offer £5m plus striker Glenn Murray – the latter having scored 31 goals when Palace were promoted from the Championship in 2012/13 before a knee injury ruled him out for nine months. Murray has also been linked with Reading.

It’s now a case of brinkmanship between Ipswich and Leicester. The Blues have a set fee that they want for their main man, Leicester could well suggest their interest is cooling and – at the last minute – one or the other will crack.

Should the deal go through, McCarthy has played down the prospect of spending money on a replacement ahead of tonight’s 11pm deadline, the Blues boss suggesting he would utilise the ‘emergency’ loan window – which opens again next week for 93-day deals.

The EADT and Ipswich Star, however, understands that Foxes striker Chris Wood is on a list of potential targets. The 22-year-old – a New Zealand international team mate and good friend of Blues centre-back Tommy Smith – was at the iPro Stadium to watch Town’s 1-1 draw on Saturday.

He came off the bench late on against both Everton (scoring a late equaliser) and Chelsea in the early stages of the season, but was an unused substitute at Leicester drew 1-1 at home to Arsenal yesterday.

It’s understood that any deal would be negotiated separately to a potential McGoldrick transfer rather than being included as part of a swap package. Wood has also been linked with a switch to Palace.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have now been linked with Blues defender Tyrone Mings, having previously been linked with Tommy Smith. The latest reports suggest that the Eagles will turn to Mings should a deal for Tottenham’s Zeki Fryers fall through.

Guardian journalist Stuart James has tweeted: “Told Palace wanted Zeki Fryers & Tyrone Mings. But Mings v unlikely happen, Ipswich rejected £2.5m bid & McCarthy determined to keep him.”

Another player Town have long kept tabs on is former loan star Jonny Williams. The Welsh international midfielder impressed as a sub for the Eagles when Keith Millen was caretaker boss for the 3-1 defeat against West Ham but was an unsued sub for Warnock’s first match in charge, the 3-3 draw at Newcastle last weekend. Palace’s reported interest in attacking midfielder Adel Taarabt could be crucial.

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