Ipswich Town have not taken up their option to sign Tyreeq Bakinson on a permanent transfer, with the Bristol City midfielder now training with the Under-23s as the Robins try and find a move for him.
Bakinson spent the second half of last season on loan with the Tractor Boys, making 17 appearances and was among head coach Kieran McKenna’s midfield considerations this summer, with Ipswich holding first refusal on the 23-year-old, but the League One club have pursued other options in the position.
Bakinson was back at the Robins High Performance Centre on Monday to join the rest of the City squad for the first time since January 20, when his exit was followed by a very public criticism of his attitude by manager Nigel Pearson.
The former Luton Town midfielder is now in limbo and has not been training with the rest of the first-team squad at Failand, as evidenced by his absence during Friday’s open session in front of local media.
Explaining Bakinson’s absence, Pearson said: “He’s here but he’s not training with us at the moment. Ipswich have decided that they don’t want to take their option on him, so we’ll be looking to try and find a solution to that.”
Bakinson still has a year to run on his contract at City after the club elected to take up the 12-month option in his deal in November last year during a run of games in the team, albeit with Pearson admitting it was as much a financial decision to protect their asset as it was reward for his performances. 55 days later and he was exiled to Ipswich with his future in the West Country all-but decided.
City will now be working hard to secure a deal away from the club for the 23-year-old who has significant EFL experience from Championship through to League Two level but finding a club willing to pay for him, given the options in free agency, will prove challenging.
Another returning loanee is in a similar position in Taylor Moore, albeit with the defender still training with the first-team.
Moore also has one more year on his City contract but spent all of last season on loan at Hearts in the Scottish Premiership. The Edinburgh club elected against making that move permanent and the 25-year-old is now back in Failand but isn’t thought to be part of Pearson’s plans for 2022/23. Speaking in April, Moore conceded it could be time to leave City after six years with the club.
Having moved on Kasey Palmer this week, with Callum O'Dowda's contract also not renewed earlier in the summer, the Robins manager admits further departures are likely.
"There may be more departures, you'll have to wait and see," he added. "A lot of that is driven by the players themselves. We'll just see what happens but it would be good to make one or two more changes."
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