Ipswich Town head coach Kieran McKenna insists the door remains open for the possible signing of Bristol City midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson, despite Nigel Pearson’s claims to the contrary last week.
Bakinson has not joined the City squad on their pre-season tour to the Alps and has been exiled to train with the Under-23s as he’s not part of Pearson’s plans moving forward following an acrimonious split at the start of the year when he decided to join Ipswich on loan.
Speaking on Friday, Pearson said that Ipswich had declined to take up their option to make the 23-year-old’s loan move into a permanent and City were now searching for “solutions” as to how to move Bakinson on before the end of the window.
McKenna, though, insists Bakinson remains a transfer possibility for the Tractor Boys despite having added defensive midfielder Dom Ball from QPR so far this summer.
“I think there’s still time on that option that we have, so we’ve not had discussions yet with Tyreeq or with Bristol City as I’m aware of,” McKenna told the East Anglian Daily Times. “That’s a position between ourselves and Tyreeq and his representatives.
“That’s, as far as I know, not a formal position from our club yet. We’ll have those discussions up until the deadline that I believe is in place.”
City will be requiring a fee for Bakinson having activated the option in his contract last November which keeps him under agreement at Ashton Gate until 2023.
Reading between the lines of Pearson’s words and McKenna’s position, it would seem that the original clause that allowed Ipswich first refusal on Bakinson was set too high and the Tractor Boys will only pay a more realistic figure for him.
Given Bakinson is persona non grata to his manager, and with little place in the squad or team, City could well be in a position where they have to take what they can get for the midfielder with clubs knowing the Robins are in a position where they have to sell.
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