Argyle have bid rejected for Ipswich defender
RYAN Lowe has confirmed that Plymouth Argyle have had a bid rejected for out-of-favour Ipswich Town defender Janoi Donacien.
Lowe has not completely ruled out any further interest in signing the 27-year-old, but stated that ‘the ball is in their court’ with reference to Ipswich.
Reports in East Anglia suggested Argyle had made ‘a modest offer’ for Donacien, who has not played any League One football for Ipswich this season.
Lowe revealed he spoke to Ipswich general manager Lee O’Neill about Donacien, who is thought to be a loan target for his former club, Accrington Stanley.
St Lucia-born Donacien has made three starts for Paul Lambert’s Ipswich this term, all of them in cup competitions.
Lowe said: “I spoke to Lee there, who is a good bloke, and we just couldn’t get a deal done. That’s why I say it has got to be right.
“We will keep trying. We are looking. And we don’t just have one target, we have a few.
“They have come out and said it, and I can’t deny it now can I? He was just one of many.”
When Lowe was asked whether there was any chance of a deal for Donacien being revived, he replied: “I don’t know, it depends. The ball is in their court, we have done our bit.
“If they give us a call and say ‘You can do this now’ we will look at it, but until then we are on with the next ones.”
Lowe is seeking a replacement for Niall Canavan, who moved to League Two club Bradford City last week for an undisclosed fee.
Donacien began his career at Aston Villa but did not break into their senior side before moving to Accrington in 2016.
The central defender can also play at both full-back positions as well as wing-back.
He was sold to Ipswich for £750,000 in January 2019 after spending the first half of the season on loan from Accrington.
Donacien has only made 21 starts and one substitute appearance for the Suffolk club since then, however.
Lowe has made it clear he wants to add a new defender to his squad but that it must be ‘right one, the right fit’ for Argyle.