Town boss Kieran McKenna says there will be movement both in and out of Portman Road before the transfer window closes but wouldn’t be drawn on the club’s interest in Everton striker Ellis Simms.

Quizzed on whether he’s looking to add further to his squad, having added midfielder Jack Taylor already, McKenna said: “Yes, that’s the plan. The club are working hard. We know what we want to add in terms of profiles and positions.

“They’re working hard, but it takes time. We want to add the right players, we have plenty of depth, so it’s about adding different qualities that we want. The club are working on it but we feel that we can still improve the squad, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

McKenna dismissed the suggestion that a striker is his priority: “No, we’ve got a few different positions and profiles that we’re looking for.

“Of course, we had a striker on loan last year [George Hirst] and we’re missing that position, so it’s an easy one to identify, we’re looking at a few different positions across the pitch.”

Everton’s Ellis Simms is known to be on Town’s list of potential recruits although with claims of £4 million bids understood to be wide of the mark.

The 22-year-old is also believed to interesting a number of other clubs, including his former loan side Sunderland, while Swansea City are the latest to be linked.

Asked about Simms, McKenna said: “Not our player, there’s lots of speculation at this time of year and it’s not our place to speak about any players from other clubs.

“A lot of speculation that goes out is incorrect. We certainly won’t comment on it until anything is further down the line.”

While McKenna has plans to add, there’s currently not a lot of wriggle room with the Blues limited to a 25-man squad for the Championship, although with players under 21 not included in that number.

The Blues boss admits that that’s likely to see players departing: “I think you have to look at the squad with the club and with the players and find what’s best.

“Players want to play and we have big numbers with what’s happened over the last couple of years, so we have to find the right outcome for the squad and for the players.

“We want the squad to have good depth but we want it to be competitive and that everyone feels they can play and they can get minutes and they’re competing for a place and unless we trim the numbers a little bit from where we are now, then we won’t be able to have that.

“So I think in reality there will be movement both ways to find what’s right for the squad and also to find what’s right for the individual players.”

Photo: Action Images

wischip added 12:09 - Jul 3 I think we'd be ok to start the season with what we already have, not ideal, but we'd do ok. Another striker would be great but I think we can shuffle the pack with all our No 10s as False 9s and see how we start. Ball could be the extra cover in defence we already have. Let's see how this squad steps up as a whole for the first few games. Changes will perhaps be more obvious by the time the January transfer window comes around.

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