U's aim to keep Okuonghae

Okuonghae: U's not interested in selling defender

Colchester general manager Tim Waddington insists he is committed to keeping Magnus Okuonghae at the club.

The U's last week rejected a bid from League One rivals Charlton for the defender, with executive chairman Robbie Cowling subsequently stating that it would take an 'extremely large offer' to even tempt Colchester to consider parting with Okuonghae or any other of their prize assets.

Waddington told the Daily Gazette "Magnus is a big part of John's (manager John Ward) plans for the new season.

"He's a big influence around the club both on and off the pitch and also does a lot of work for us off the field.

"The talk of interest in him is what you get at this time of year and it's what clubs do.

"I can understand if clubs are looking at our better players, because that's the way football works. But the vast majority of our squad will be back here for pre-season and only David Perkins has left."