Ipswich renew Nugent interest

(GETTY IMAGES)

Portsmouth misfit David Nugent will be given another chance to join Ipswich Town.

Pompey have yet to receive a bid for the striker, who cost £6m last summer and then made only eight first-team starts, failing to score a Premier League goal.

But Ipswich manager Jim Magilton has confirmed he is reviving his interest in the one-cap England forward despite Nugent turning down a loan move to Portman Road last season.

Magilton said: "We tried to get him in but it didn't happen and we moved on but I would like to go back in for him because I know he can live at this level and we know he enjoys scoring at Portman Road.

"He is someone I know could take us to where we want to go."

Nugent, 23, was still recovering from a hernia operation when Ipswich tried to sign him last season and he also admitted not fancying dropping down to the Championship again after joining Pompey from Preston last July.

He missed Pompey's current pre-season trip to Nigeria and South Africa - they are due to return tomorrow - because of another injury.

Now Portsmouth have signed Peter Crouch from Liverpool for £11million to push Nugent further down the pecking order at Fratton Park.

The 22-year-old scored a third-round FA cup winner against Ipswich last January and was a second-half substitute in the final.

But manager Harry Redknapp is eager to recoup some of the fee for Nugent having added only Crouch, free-transfer winger Glen Little and on-loan forward Ben Sahar to his squad so far this summer.

He must raise significant funds to net his other top targets - Tottenham centre back Younes Kaboul and Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips - despite selling Sulley Muntari for £12.7m to Inter Milan.

The Kaboul opportunity has moved nearer with the French defender's agent saying his client would prefer to join Portsmouth after turning down Sunderland.

But Spurs, despite having made Kaboul available for transfer, will still want a hefty fee having reportedly beaten off competition from Redknapp to sign the former Auxerre player for more than £8m last summer.