Club record signing Omari Hutchinson joins a long list of Ipswich Town players to turn their loan spells into a permanent move. Ross Halls takes a look at some of the more memorable ones...
GEORGE HIRST
The forward was a massive success during his loan spell from Leicester as helped the Blues win promotion to the Championship in 2022/23 season.
Hirst signed for the club on a permanent deal last summer and despite missing half the season through injury he scored seven goals as Kieran McKenna's men won promotion to the Premier League.
CHRISTIAN WALTON
The keeper moved to Town from Brighton on loan in the summer of 2021, before making the move permanent in the January and during 2022/23 he won the League One golden glove.
However, last season was a different story for Walton as he was sidelined with a plantar fascia injury and the form of Vaclav Hladky saw him restricted to just cup appearances.
His future is unclear as it stands. Town took the option on his contract this summer, with Hladky departing. Could he win the number one job back?
EMYR HUWS
The Welsh midfielder was a hit during his loan spell from Cardiff City, scoring memorable goals against Aston Villa and Newcastle
Huws then signed for the club on a permanent deal, inking a four-year contract to much excitement and fanfare, but injuries hampered his time at Town, as he made just 55 appearances and scored five goals.
JANOI DONACIEN
The defender move to the club was a interesting one as you may remember - he actually joined Ipswich on loan from Accrington in the summer of 2018, before making his move full-time the following January for £750,000, only to be loaned back to Stanley within a week by Paul Lambert.
Donacien also had a loan to Fleetwood but became a key figure for Town as they won League One promotion. Last season he was the starting right back on opening day but spent most of the campaign sidelined with an adductor injury. He remains at the club to recover but looks certain to leave in due course.
MASSIMO LUONGO
The midfielder has had two spells at Portman Road a decade apart, as he first spent time on loan with Town from Spurs in 2012.
Luongo returned to the club in January 2023, and he has since been a key figure in the back-to-back promotions to the top flight.
JIM MAGILTON
The Northern Irishman was plucked from Sheffield Wednesday’s reserves in January of 1999, becoming a massive hit, signing permanently for £750,000 in the March and ultimately stayed with the club for a decade.
Magilton made over 300 appearances as a player and took charge of more than 100 games as a manager.
MARTIJN REUSER
The Dutchman was brought in from Ajax, becoming a cult hero as he scored a late winner on his debut against Fulham and the goal that clinched promotion at Wembley.
Reuser signed permanently for £1million in the summer of 2000, scoring 19 goals in 104 games for the club.
PAUL COOPER
The legendary goalkeeper played one game on loan for Town in 1974 before Sir Bobby Robson made his temporary move from Birmingham City permanent for a fee of £23,000.
Cooper went on to help the Blues win the FA Cup, a UEFA Cup and played close to 600 games for the club.
SHEFKI KUQI
The forward was signed by Joe Royle, initially temporarily from Sheffield Wednesday in 2003, and went on to became a cult hero in the two years which followed.
Kuqi scored 32 goals as Town reached back-to-back play-off semi-finals and was known for his celebration, but the less said about his brief loan spell back at Town from Crystal Palace in 2008, the better....
JIMMY BULLARD
The midfielder had an incredible loan period as he won the club’s player-of-the-year award after playing just 16 times during his initial loan from Hull.
Bullard's full-time spell was underwhelming though.
JAMIE CLAPHAM
The left-back was signed from Tottenham, initially on loan in January 1998, before a £200,000 move a few months later as he became another key player in the early 2000s.
Clapham played over 200 games during his spell, before leaving for Birmingham in 2003.
NOEL HUNT
The Irish forward joined Town initially on loan from Leeds United in November 2014 and scored a dramatic late debut winner at Charlton.
Hunt re-signed for the Blues on a short-term deal in January 2015 after his release from the Whites and in total made 12 appearances for Town, scoring three goals.
JON STEAD
The forward made an instant impact after scoring on his debut against Reading, having joined on loan from Sheffield United in September 2008 and made his move full-time for £600,00 a month later.
Stead was a solid contributor throughout his time at Portman Road, netting 20 goals in 67 games before departing the club to join Bristol City in August 2010.
CHRIS BART-WILLIAMS
The midfielder signed on loan from Charlton in September 2003, where he made a strong initial impression and signed permanently for the rest of the 2003/04 season in the December.
Overall, Bart-Williams played 26 games and scored two goals before he left the club to have spells in Cyprus and Malta.
DARYL MURPHY
The Irishman was a slow burner as he was originally signed by Roy Keane in February of 2010 and had three spells on loan before Mick McCarthy signed him permanently in 2013.
Murphy was brilliant as he scored 27 goals as Town made the play-offs in 2014/15 but he was sold to Newcastle for £3 million in the summer of 2016.
ADAM PROUDLOCK
The forward joined the Blues initially on loan in October 2005 after he was sacked for a number of breaches of club discipline at Sheffield Wednesday.
Proudlock signed on a short-term contract in January 2006, but a persistent knee injury restricted him to nine games during his brief stint with Town.
BARTOSZ BIALKOWSKI
The Polish keeper was signed by Magilton on loan from Southampton in 2009, but didn't make a first-team appearance during that spell.
He ultimately re-joined the club from Notts County in 2014 and was a big fans' favourite, winning three-successive player-of-the-year awards.
GARY ROBERTS
The midfielder is another player to join the Blues on loan from Accrington, having initially joined in October 2006 and impressed enough to earn a permanent four-year deal with the club in January 2007.
Roberts went on to play over 50 times for Town before departing for Huddersfield in July 2008.
GAVIN WILLIAMS
The Welsh midfielder signed from West Ham on loan in November 2005, making an instant impact by scoring on his Blues debut against Coventry and the deal was made permanent in January 2006 for a fee of £300,000.
Williams made over 50 appearances for Town and his strike against Leeds United won the club's goal of the season award for 2006/07 season.
JAY TABB
The midfielder was another one of McCarthy's loan to free agent signings as Tabb joined from Reading for the final months of the 2012/13 season before arriving full-time.
Overall, he was a hard working player who made 85 appearances for Town, scoring five goals but never played professional football again after leaving Town in the summer of 2016.
DAVID MCGOLDRICK
The forward signed from Nottingham Forest in January 2013, initially on loan, but with the deal becoming a permanent switch the following summer.
A year later, previous owner Marcus Evans turned down what was understood to be a £7 million offer from Leicester City. Overall he scored 45 goals in 159 games for the Blues.
ALEX HENSHALL
The winger didn't make an appearance for Town during his brief loan move from Man City in March 2014, but did earn a full-time contract at Portman Road.
However, Henshall would make just five appearances under McCarthy and was shipped out to Blackpool on loan, before joining Kilmarnock and then dropping into non-league.
JASON CUNDY
The defender is another player to have joined initially on loan from Spurs in October 1996, before joining permanently a month later for £200,000.
Cundy made more than 50 appearances for the club, and was diagnosed with testicular cancer during his spell at Portman Road.
LUKE VARNEY
The forward had three separate spells at Portman Road, having initially joined Town on loan from Blackburn Rovers in February 2015.
He suffered an injury in the play-off semi-finals against Norwich but remained at the club before signing permanently in December 2015.
Varney would re-join the Blues for a third spell in August 2016 on a short-term deal before leaving to join Burton Albion in January 2017.
WILL KEANE
The forward spent the second half of 2018/19 on loan at Town from Hull City, before signing on a permanent basis that summer following his release by the Tigers.
Keane scored nine goals in 41 games for Town but was not offered new terms in May 2020, so he went on to join Wigan and is now at Preston.
PAUL DIGBY
The versatile player made a loan switch to Ipswich from Barnsley in January 2016, before signing on a permanent basis that summer.
Digby - 'Diggers' to McCarthy - played just 12 games for the club, before leaving in the summer of 2017.
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