Town are one of a number of British clubs to have shown interest in Hammarby IF keeper Johannes Hopf, according to the Swedish club’s sporting director Gustaf Grauers. The Blues, Swindon, Charlton and Hibernian are all said to have been eyeing the 6ft 5in tall stopper.

Grauers said: “I know there is interest, absolutely. I only know about foreign clubs - Ipswich, Swindon and Charlton in the Championship [sic] and Hibernian in Scotland.

“He's got one and a half years left on his contract. I know he has the ambition to play as high up as possible.

“In Sweden he naturally wants to participate in taking Hammarby to the Allsvenskan [top flight]. But if he can get a good contract at a club abroad he would like that. He's not trying to hide that fact. But there are no bids."

Hopf played youth and amateur football with Brösarps IF, IFK Simrishamn and Ystads IF before joining Hammarby IF in 2008. After a spell on loan with the linked Hammarby TFF in the lower regional leagues, he broke into the first team at the end of the 2009 season with the club already set for relegation to the Superettan (second tier).

He started the following campaign as deputy to Swedish international and former Arsenal man Rami Shaaban but ultimately took his place in the side and has subsequently established himself as the number one.

Town are very much in the market for a new keeper to join their only current senior glovesman Arran Lee-Barrett, with trialist Eldin Jakupović signing for Hull City on Sunday, while clubs abroad and agents are keen to generate UK interest in their players at this time of the year.

Manager Paul Jewell said on Thursday that he had “two or three other targets” aside from the Bosnian-born former Swiss international, who had previously been offered terms by the Tigers at the end of last season.

Photo: Action Images

s6blue added 21:26 - Jul 11 looks tasty
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AbujaBlue added 21:34 - Jul 11 I don't get why our next goalie needs to be a native English speaker, as long as he has a good command of English (which most Swedes do) and is a good communicator then that is what should matter. I for one love seeing these goalies coming up on the radar as it gives us more options!
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Mungo added 21:38 - Jul 11 A relative unknown but supposedly has a pretty good rep. Can't judge him on the basis of the highlights video (it doesn't show any of the goals that got past him - and there were a few if you keep an eye on the scores!). Displaced the former Arsenal man and Swedish No 1, which is pretty impressive, and probably wouldn't be very expensive given that he is playing in Swedish 2nd division. Gut instinct says he could be worth a punt, but hopefully the scouts will do their homework and make sure. Time will tell...

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JohnnyCougar added 22:07 - Jul 11 ipswichbusiness / I don't think language will be any problem as swedes study English from the age of nine or ten. Just sayin.
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Fatcatevans added 22:13 - Jul 11 taylor15 did you really think ALB did a decent job last year? Really I saw him several times including Brighton away when he was beyond awful. We seriously need a better keeper than him
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Sebastian added 22:20 - Jul 11 JohnnyCougar: Yeah, we do. The english won't be a problem.
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buryblue77 added 22:57 - Jul 11 AbujaBlue, Agreed. A goalkeeper who couldn't speak the language could be a disaster but as he's Swedish (as Sebastian has just confirmed) English won't be a problem. Same for the other Scandanavian countries, Germans (so Maxmillian will be ok) and Dutch etc...
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irishtim added 07:56 - Jul 12 Worth a look i suppose. Would like a more experienced no.1 to help our defence,with 2 good back up keepers.
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swedish_meatballs added 10:01 - Jul 12 I am sorry but he is useless. I have seen him play on numerous occasions and every single time he disappoints with basic basic errors although he does pull off a few top saves from time to time. I very much hope ITFC forget him
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dirtydingusmagee added 11:38 - Jul 12 all these keepers linked, watched ,trialed, surely we must get it sorted soon !,we'll be linked with an octopus next ,[now theres a thought ].
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pegasus added 12:32 - Jul 12 I see the lad played for Ystads IF. I wonder if Wallander knows him? As I recall, he supported youth football.
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