Derby County striker Conor Sammon has joined the Blues on a season-long loan from Derby County. Town have been linked with the 27-year-old Republic of Ireland international on a number of occasions since Mick McCarthy took over at Portman Road.

Sammon trained with the Blues squad this morning and will be in the squad at Reading tomorrow if the paperwork goes through before tomorrow's noon deadline.

Sammon told the club site that the chance to work with Mick McCarthy was one he couldn't turn down: "Once I became aware that the gaffer was interested in bringing me to Ipswich, it was an opportunity that really excited me.

“I have always admired the manager from the time he was in charge of the Ireland national team. He is very straight, very honest.

"He came across that way in the interviews I used to see him do from years ago and from the conversations I’ve had with him, he’s exactly the same now.

“I’m looking forward to working under him. I think I’m the type of player that will suit what the gaffer wants from his players and how the team is here.

“Last season was a frustrating one for me on a personal level at Derby, even though the team had a successful season and were close to getting promoted.

“It was difficult training through the week knowing that you weren’t going to be playing on the Saturday. Coming to Ipswich gives me a new opportunity to really fight for a place in the team. Hopefully it can be a very successful loan for me and the club.”

Explaining the move, Derby boss Steve McClaren told the Rams' official site: “Conor’s first-team chances were limited last season, especially with Chris Martin in superb form.

“That was unfortunately going to be the case for him this season, especially following the arrival of Leon Best from Blackburn Rovers, so moving on loan to Ipswich presents him with a strong possibility of playing first-team football.”

The Dubliner, who has been handed the Town number 32 shirt, played youth football with local side Cherry Orchard, then moved on to UCD, Derry City, Kilmarnock and then Wigan before joining Derby for £1.2 million in the summer of 2012.

Since then Sammon, who has won nine full Ireland caps, has made 49 starts and 40 sub appearances for the Rams, scoring 13 goals.

Sammon, who earlier in the summer was linked with a reunion with former Derby boss Nigel Clough at Sheffield United, is contracted to the Rams for another two years.

Photos: Action Images/ITFC

Photo: Action Images

cleggo added 13:36 - Aug 15 what has mick been smoking
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StuartBrett8 added 13:37 - Aug 15 Nice to see the Tw@'s on twitter giving him grief already? Welcome to Ipswich Conor, good luck :)
20

rolly added 13:38 - Aug 15 Happy with that, always rated him
4

BlueBadger added 13:42 - Aug 15 Good signing. AND a much better goals to games ration than Paul Taylor.
2

bluelady added 13:42 - Aug 15 Jury out, hardly prolific - 10 in 83 for Derby... Still better than Nouble I guess! Will watch him play a few times before I give an opinion
8

CavendishBlue added 13:42 - Aug 15 Yep me too.Surprised derby prepared to loan him as he's always played well against us and caused no end of problems.
6

karls_dad added 13:43 - Aug 15 Only one question...............Is he any better than Nouble? cos my dog certainly is!
8

MickMillsTash added 13:44 - Aug 15 Not so good in the away game last year- subbed at half time, but think he can add something to the squad. As much as we can hope for i think
2

Mark added 13:45 - Aug 15 I suppose there is no harm in having another target man in addition to Murphy, as it seems that although tall Bajner is not a target man. I can't comment on Sammon's overall play, but he must have something about him to win 9 international caps and his goal scoring record is not good with 10 goals in 83 league games at Derby, and 1 goal in 32 games before that at Wigan according to Wiki. Mick knows what he is doing, so welcome Conor.

2

Fixed_It added 13:45 - Aug 15 Happy enough with that - good hard-working player who will create chances for others. Welcome aboard, Conor!
1

TimmyH added 13:45 - Aug 15 What a surprise...big strong striker and he's Irish! (see my post yesterday). Welcome though, not sure if he's that different from Murphy.
1

ItfcLoyal added 13:48 - Aug 15 R.I.P to the days of proper football.
-11

Gooders7592 added 13:49 - Aug 15 Bajner, Murphy and now Sammon seem very similar players. If we play two of them together up top it doesn't/won't work. This was proved first half Saturday. I don't see the point having all 3 of them. Strange signing.
7

BlueinBrum added 13:52 - Aug 15 Sounds a bit fishy to me. Hopefully he won't be a red herring and will work hard to earn his plaice in the team.
12

thorpedo added 13:52 - Aug 15 Terrible player - I cannot understand this signing. Surely a pacy forward was needed. Sammon is just a much worse version of Murphy.
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StowTractorBoy added 13:53 - Aug 15 Sammon is what I would call a typical MM type player. He works hard and closes down from the front. He is not a prolific goal scorer but his workrate will unsettle opposition defences I am sure. Certainly a better all round player than Nouble and a really good option from the bench. Welcome to ITFC Connor and good luck.
5

itfcperv added 13:53 - Aug 15 "His style of play meant that he frequently held up the ball and provided and assists for teammates. Clough particularly praised his "absolutely superb" performance in the 2—1 win against Ipswich Town on 23 October, where he provided assists for Theo Robinson and Tyson"
4

Jimmy86 added 13:55 - Aug 15 Had hoped this signing wouldn't come to fruition, because he is hardly prolific and to be honest not much better than nouble. But if Mick deems him a suitable signing then I trust his judgement and wish him all the best, hopefully he will score a few goals and justify his signing. Should really have gone in for leon best instead, but he prob pushed sammon closer to the exit door at derby. Also dont know why we didnt go on for sharp on a free but hey ho

5

HarryfromBath added 13:55 - Aug 15 The one constant theme I remember from Derby fans is that he is an excellent striker when it comes to getting inside defenders heads and pulling them out of position. The one drawback he has is his poor finishing. Being positive, perhaps Mick and Terry have seen some aspects of his game that they can get to work on to improve his actual scoring record. They have a track record in doing this, and his record at Derby of something like 10 goals in over 80 games suggests they have to have a plan. It is an intriguing signing and I can understand why a few of us are a bit more than nervous. I'm reserving judgement until after half-a-dozen games, until we have seen how he will fit in.

9

cleggo added 13:56 - Aug 15 guess Marriott is now further down the pecking order as well.
9

runningout added 13:58 - Aug 15 makes you wonder why Derby let him out on loan.... is he fit? is he fat? is he unsettled? Maybe he's too gobby, or too quiet? For one not sure how we turned Taylor into a shoddy player overnight............. obviously hope he surprises all
1

Toronto_Tractor added 14:01 - Aug 15 As long as he can leap like one... Extra aerial presence is always useful in this league!
3

essextractorboy93 added 14:02 - Aug 15 Why don't we try and actually be positive for a change and give the guy a chance? He hasn't kicked a ball yet for us. He has played premier league and championship football for years and has an international career. His goal scoring record isn't the best, but why don't we judge him properly in a few weeks time when he has actually played a few matches for us?

25

Len_Brennan added 14:03 - Aug 15 I'm a fan of Mick and what he has done for the club, but I have to say that this signing has disappointed me greatly. I wouldn't be rushing to have Conor Sammon at the club in any circumstances, although I could understand it if we needed the qualities he has due to a lack of options - but that is not the case. What we are lacking is an experienced goalscoring striker; the type of player we all hope that Jack Marriott will grow into. Having Murphy, Nouble, Bajner and now Sammon as the likely partners for McGoldrick doesn't seem to suggest a capacity to vary our style, apart from maybe playing 2 big men of front, which can be effective but is generally a sign of desperation from a team who aren't good enough to compete against their opposition. I was no fan of Payl Taylor, but I would have preferred we kept him than signing Sammon; at least then we could have looked to play in a subtle way sometimes. Disappointed with this; I really hope that Jonny Williams is in the bag now.

3

tractordownsouth added 14:04 - Aug 15 He's cack
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