The Daily Mail reports that Stephen Bywater is remaining in the East Midlands after Tottenham decided not to press ahead and buy the former West Ham stopper. It’s not clear from the comments of Paul Jewell why the north London club decided not to acquire the 27-year-old as back-up to Heurelho Gomes, but the deal is dead in the water.

‘I got a phone call to say for whatever reason the deal had fallen through but it was nothing to do with Stephen,’ Jewell said.

Bywater was on his way to London to complete the deal when Spurs boss Juande Ramos called off the transfer.

‘I think Stephen is a bit disappointed but, from our point of view, he will certainly push Roy Carroll,’ the Derby boss said.

‘Stephen has looked very sharp in pre-season and I am not disappointed, especially with Lewis Price being injured.’

So Derby continue to have two decent goalkeepers on their books, although Carroll looks like being the number one choice, despite a series of blunders for the Rams last term. Does Bywater have a future at County, or will he look for a move elsewhere following his Spurs heartache? And why did Tottenham decide they no longer wanted the shot-stopper?

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Town boss Jim Magilton says:

Stephen is a young, ambitious goalkeeper who knows what is needed to win promotion from this division. We are delighted to have him with us and he will stay here on loan with a view to making it a permanent move in the summer.

The move will be a loan deal at the moment with Ipswich retaining an option to sign the player on a permanent basis in the summer.