Joel Ward. left
TRANSFER LATEST: Ipswich Town and one other rival battle for Joel Ward signature
By Dave Gooderham
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
10:47 PM
IPSWICH Town are now in a straight 50/50 shoot-out for hot property Joel Ward.
We can today reveal the highly-rated Portsmouth man has narrowed down his options from six Championship clubs to just two as the transfer saga nears a conclusion.
And Ipswich remain very much in the hunt, with Ward expected to meet again with manager Paul Jewell and speak with owner Marcus Evans before making his drawn-out decision over whether to be the Blues’ first signing of the summer.
A source close to Portsmouth said: “Joel is taking his time but Ipswich are right up there. He likes Paul Jewell’s experience of gaining promotion, the financial stability of the club and the desire of the owner Marcus Evans to get to the Promised Land of the Premier League.”
While the identity of the second club is being kept under wraps, Town remain very much in the hunt for the man they first started courting in January.
We understand Ward has cut down the original list of six – made up of Ipswich, Leeds United, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday – to just the Blues and one other.
Reports in Sheffield claim the Owls have pulled out of the race because they refused to cough up the reported fee of £500,000 while stories coming out of Elland Road suggest a financial power-struggle is going on between Leeds manager Neil Warnock and his board.
Jewell has no such problems with Evans happy to back his boss – although perhaps not quite to the tune of previous years. Ward’s wages are not believed to be a problem and a fee has been agreed with the cash-strapped South Coast club.
It would now seem to come down to a footballing decision, with Jewell having to convince the 22-year-old that he is moulding a side capable of challenging at the right end of the Championship.
We understand that Ward will be talking with both Jewell and Evans again this week with chief executive Simon Clegg, who often brokers potential transfers, not involved with discussions at this stage.
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12 comments
if we can just keep the CEO from entering negotiations then i think we will get our man
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peter samuels
Thursday, May 24, 2012
yes , a good signing IF we get him . would still be very very surprised if this is the case
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KEVIN FRANCIS
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
How did I know who would directly respond first!
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Blue Exile
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Reading that Clegg is not involved has suddenly changed my attitude towards this signing from "no chance" to "this deal is actually possible" Come on Town!!
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Marc Wilson
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Thank god Evans has rumbled Clegg, can this be the start of better times.
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Cyril Baker
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
To be honest i would see this as a very positive signing for town and a good transfer fee, he has been consistant through the season and i feel town have lacked that, just reading through some of the released players from some of the other clubs and am hoping town will possible go for a few Gavin Hoyte from arsenal has just been released at 21, i knowhe is old and prob no chance of coming to town as is a top keeper Manuel Almunia i know he's 35 but a year2 year contact think he would be good, have said before, mark beevers from wednesday as is out of contact and if we get alan judge i think town are looking good
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Jonesey
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Blue Exile I would like to turn your comments on their head. You could say by staying he maximised his income from Portsmouth by retaining his preferred creditor status effectively getting a massive financial windfall Now by holding the club in admin to ransom he can add to that by taking his time negotiating the best possible pay deal - both to leave and join.
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Rob Steroo
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
I dare say there will be some comments on here about 'he didn't want to come at Xmas' blah blah but I would like to switch that on it's head and offer the thought that this was a young player staying with the club that had given him his break (the club were not desperate to sell etc etc because they knew the cash would drop into a blackhole), wanted to help them battle as much as they could and now wants to progress. I would compare his situation and attitude(fairly open as to what he wanted to do, i.e. wait til end of the season) to some of our own players who have left over the last few seasons. Would be a great start if we could get his signature on a piece of paper early on
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Blue Exile
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
well what can i say lol,if ward is to be a town player you know why ! cleg has been kept out of the discussions
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robbierotten
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
This is welcome news indeed....Clegg not being involved !!! Fingers crossed
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bluearmy78
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Come on! Prove that players still want to come to this club. This signing would be a huge positive because of the amount of clubs after him. Would be a great signing as well. Better than an aimless signing of an average-ish player like Daryl Murphy, which shows little enthusiasm in going forward.
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ITFC <3
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
"Simon Clegg, not involved in discussions at this stage." There is real promise then!
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FRANK WESTON
Wednesday, May 23, 2012