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Thu, Mar

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THE vultures are beginning to circle around Carlos Edwards.



A number of teams are closely monitoring Ipswich Town’s in-form right-back as the Suffolk club continue to stall over a contract offer.

The Trinidadian was named in the Championship Team of the Week following an impressive display in the Blues’ 3-0 win over high-flying Cardiiff City at Portman Road on Saturday.

Not only did he produce a typically lung-busting run to set up Michael Chopra for goal number two, but he also got in some brave blocks in his own box to help seal back-to-back clean sheets and a fourth successive victory.

Handed the captain’s armband in the absence of the injured Ibrahima Sonko for the last two games, Edwards has made more appearances than any other player during manager Paul Jewell’s managerial reign – starting 54 of his 56 matches in charge.

And yet the 33-year-old player of the season candidate – keen to stay – still hasn’t been offered a new deal, despite the fact his current one expires in little over four months’ time.

After heaping praise on a number of his players following Saturday’s impressive win, Jewell was asked how impressed he was with Edwards’ display. “He’ll be telling me he’s won the toss twice now and deserves a new deal because of that!” joked the Blues boss, before quickly moving on.

The Star understands that Edwards is prepared to accept a pay cut – backing himself to earn more money and a longer deal through appearance-related clauses – but that Jewell has reservations over the player’s age and defensive abilities.

And the latter is something that assistant boss Chris Hutchings – a former right-back himself – has now voiced publicly.

“Defensively he could be better – he knows that – and we’re constantly onto him and working on drills in training,” said Hutchings, before Saturday’s game.

“Carlos has been converted into a right-back and he’s never going to lose his attacking instincts because that’s how he was brought up. I guess wing-back would be his most preferred role.

“Sometimes when you’re a forward-thinking player you can switch off or drift into places which give you a hard task recovering.

“When you have pace, though, that can cover a multitude of sins.”