Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy has refused to confirm whether his club are interested in signing Hearts defender Jordan McGhee.
The Championship side have been linked with a move for the 19-year-old, who enjoyed a breakthrough campaign last season to help Hearts return to the Scottish Premiership.
Despite confirming that he is keen to bring in a defender before the end of the transfer window, McCarthy decided against commenting on reports that Ipswich had bid £250,000 for McGhee.
"We're a bit thin on the ground with defenders to be honest with you, so if I could get a versatile defender from somewhere who could play left-back and centre-half, or right-back and centre-half, cover a couple of positions, that's the sort of player I'd be looking for," he is quoted as saying by the East Anglian Daily Times.
"He's somebody else's player and I don't talk about them."
Ipswich start the season by taking on Brentford at Griffin Park on Saturday.
