Ipswich Town chief Lee O’Neill has refused to rule out selling young stars Flynn Downes and Luke Woolfenden this January.
Ipswich Town Fail to Rule out Sale of Flynn Downes and Luke Woolfenden
Young Stars
Limited funds at the League One outfit means Town boss Paul Lambert has previously conceded that the Blues may be forced to sell to buy this window.
Town youth products Luke Woolfenden, 21, and Flynn Downes, 20, have both impressed in Town’s inconsistent League One campaign.
Their good performances have led to links with Championship duo QPR and Fulham respectively.
Town supporters are keen to see the duo stay due to their homegrown status and impressive form; however, Town general manager Lee O’Neill has refused to rule out their sale.
Discussing Lambert’s sell to buy comments, O’Neill said: “It’s something that’s he talked about.
“We want to keep hold of our better players and our younger players as long as possible to try and give us the ability to go to the next level.
“If it’s right in a business sense, and provides the chance for reinvestment in the future, it’s something we will look at.
“But ideally we would like to keep them at the football club as long as possible.”
When quizzed on the chances of Lambert adding reinforcements to his squad this month, O’Neill said: “We’ve invested in the recruitment area of the football club and are always looking for players that will bring quality to the team.
“If there are players out there we can get then who can improve us then we will look at it, but it’s not an open cheque book by any means.
“There are one or two coming back from injury [Freddie Sears and Teddy Bishop] and that’s exciting.”
Asked whether discussions regarding a permanent deal for Luke Garbutt had progressed any further, O’Neill said: “He’s been great for us in that position, he’s added goals and assists and is someone we’d obviously like to have in the future.
“There are a lot of things that go into that though. He’s at a Premier League club at the moment and we have to respect that. We’ll have conversations later on.
“I think he’s enjoying his football, the run of games and the challenge. Over the last 10 games there are things he could have done better and he’s aware of that.”
Town head to Exeter City in the EFL Trophy on Saturday 4 January.
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