Ipswich Town manager Paul Jewell has played down rumours that Blues captain David Norris wants to leave the club in the summer.
Reports yesterday claimed that Norris, one of the many Town players whose contract expires in the summer, would be leaving Portman Road at the end of the season after Jewell revealed some complications in negotiations with the midfielder. Defenders Gareth McAuley and Damien Delaney were offered new deals earlier in the week, but the Blues boss had told local reporters that the situation with Norris was ‘not quite as clear as the other two.’
However, Jewell insists that this does not mean the Town skipper wishes to leave the club. The Blues manager told BBC Radio Suffolk: ‘His agent put me off, saying he’s been offered fantastic deals at other clubs.’
‘I spoke to Chuck [Norris] yesterday and he wants to stay, so I’ll speak to his agent again to see if there’s something we can do.’
Other clubs are known to be pursuing Norris, with both Portsmouth and Crystal Palace expressing interest in the former Plymouth Argyle man during the January transfer window. However, suggestions that Norris no longer wishes to stay at Town are somewhat debatable; the 27-year-old revealed that he had turned down a previous contract offer from the Blues earlier in the year because he simply wanted a longer deal. Indeed, the latest rumours could simply be something of a negotiating tactic by his agent, who reportedly told Jewell to prepare for next season without the midfielder claiming that the player had received a number of big offers from elsewhere.
Meanwhile, one player Town do not look likely to secure a deal for is Crystal Palace defender David Wright. The former Ipswich right-back had recently been linked with a return to Portman Road, but Palace boss Dougie Freedman has since dismissed the rumours, stating that Wright is still a major part of his plans at Selhurst Park.
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