Ipswich Town CEO Mark Ashton has revealed a large focus on the League One club's transfer dealings will now be on outgoings in an interview with the East Anglian Daily Times, likely to put many Championship sides on high alert.
22-year-old Tractor Boys midfielder Flynn Downes is currently subject of interest from second-tier quartet Bristol City, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest and Stoke City according to the Football Insider, with Scott Parker's AFC Bournemouth also reported to be monitoring his situation.
Downes is currently out in the cold at Portman Road after being demoted to the Under-23s team, as Ipswich Town manager looks to build a completely new squad from last season going into the next campaign.
In the previous summer window, the 22-year-old was even close to signing for Premier League club Crystal Palace and handed in a transfer request to try and make the move a certainty, but this move broke down and he has remained in Suffolk for the past ten months.
The central midfielder, who can play in an advanced position or just in front of the backline, made 24 league appearances last year but was one of many players to be deemed surplus to requirements at the club and will now be looking for a way out of the third-tier side.
In an interesting development that will excite the interested clubs and their fans who want to see Downes come in, Ipswich's CEO Mark Ashton spoke to the East Anglian Daily Times about their transfer focus and said: "People understandably get excited about the players coming in but what you mustn’t underestimate is the amount of work that goes into the players moving out.
"Those deals don’t just happen and it's a vast amount of work. That’s where a lot of the focus is going.
"That takes time, energy and relationships that you fall back on with agents and clubs. Thus far we’ve done really well with the players we’ve moved out as well as in.
"I'm really happy with the business we’ve done and a couple more could move on.”
The Verdict:
Although Ashton will also be referring to other players with fellow senior professionals Teddy Bishop, Armando Dobra, Myles Kenlock and Kayden Jackson joining Downes in training with the Under-23s, this development is an exciting one for sides currently taking an interest in the midfielder.
With the League One season getting underway in just a few weeks, Cook will be keen to see the back of all four exiled players before then and this could push through a quick deal for the 22-year-old who already has previous experience in the Championship with the Tractor Boys.
One factor that could cause a delay in this potential deal is the number of teams in the race for the 22-year-old, potentially creating something of a bidding war. This is despite Ipswich's likely willingness to accept a cut-price deal just to get him off the books.
It's a good deal for any side who can win the race - and it will be interesting to see who gets there first. Let's be honest, it's a matter of when and not if Downes leaves Portman Road, with his Ipswich playing career seemingly over after graduating through their youth academy.