He may have joined Town from a modest background but Kieffer Moore’s move to Portman Road also comes after an impressive recent scoring burst.

Moore joined home town club Torquay on loan from their National League rivals Forest Green Rovers in November and netted five times in four games, including a hat-trick in a 3-0 home win over Solihull Moors, before adding another for his parent club prior to joining the Blues at the weekend, taking his season’s total to 10.

The 24-year-old, whose physique is not dissimilar to that of ex-England striker Peter Crouch, said: “It wasn’t necessarily a case of going to Torquay on loan with a view to a permanent move.

“It was more a case of falling out of favour with the manager at Forest Green — he has so many players there — and Torquay’s home for me.

“They rang me and asked if I fancied playing some games for them and I was more than happy to because I wasn’t playing for Forest Green at the time.

“I did really well there, like I knew I would. It was just about getting the game time.”

Asked about his strengths as a player, Moore replied: “Obviously, I’m a big man. I’ll bring the ball down, I’ll get people involved and I’m good with my feet.

“I’ll turn, I’ll get shots on goal and when the crosses come into the box I’ll be doing everything I can to get my head on them and attack the ball.

“The last two teams I’ve played for were ball-playing teams and possession-based so I’m more than happy to go and get the ball, sit in, play some nice passes and keep the ball, keep possession.

“There are some brilliant players here and they are players I can learn a lot from. The reason the gaffer brought me here is that I can offer something a bit different and I’ll be looking to bring the big physical presence plus a bit more.”

Moore started out in the Torquay academy but when it was scrapped for financial reasons he had little alternative but to play locally and it was his performances for Torbay side Paignton Saints in the second division of the South Devon League, when he scored 47 goals in 43 games, that saw him move up the ladder.

He joined Truro City and then, after netting seven times in as many games, he switched to their National League South rivals Dorchester in February 2013.

He scored three times in three games for Dorchester, including both goals in the 2-1 win at his former club, and his end-of-season tally was a whopping 20.

That attracted the attention of Charlton but a trial with the Londoners came to nothing, although it was a different story after he was invited to spend the 2013 pre-season with Yeovil, impressing enough to earn a two-year deal.

Moore added: “The move from Truro to Dorchester was a good one for me at the time. I wanted to get further up the country and it felt like a step in the right direction.

“It served me well because it was what I achieved at Dorchester that got me my move to Yeovil, who were a Championship club at the time. I did well from it.”

When Yeovil suffered successive relegations and found themselves back in League Two they released Moore and his next stop was Norwegian club Viking Stavanger, after which he spent time on trial with Exeter and Leyton Orient.

He joined Forest Green in January last year, helping them to reach the National League play-offs, but he was denied the chance to appear in the Wembley final defeat by Grimsby because of a ruptured appendix.

Moore jumped at the chance to join Town and said: “I never once thought I wouldn’t get this sort of chance. I’ve always backed myself and never thought I wouldn’t have a career in the game.

“I’ve always had the confidence to push myself and make the best of myself. I’ve always gone out and given it my all.

“Forest Green are a great club with a great owner and they’re doing well this season. I wish them all the best in their efforts to get promoted.

“But the main thing on my mind at the moment is making an impact here at Ipswich. I’m raring to go and very excited at the prospect of making my Ipswich debut — the sooner the better.”

Photo: TWTD

The_Romford_Blue added 06:05 - Jan 17 I really like his confidence Refreshing to hear
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GFH added 06:40 - Jan 17 Such a pitty we can't use him in the cup tonight.
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bucket99 added 08:52 - Jan 17 That's a great story, fair play to him. I don't think there's any reason to doubt his motivation or hunger.
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Surco72 added 09:58 - Jan 17 Definitely puts the effort in but as stated before don't think he is anywhere near championship standard on watching him whilst at Dorchester and Yeovil , he really struggled in League One . Good luck to him though and hope he proves me wrong if he gets the chance
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legoman added 11:42 - Jan 17 Just hope we have got a player here that is not injury prone for a change. He looks fast and agile for a big man, high hopes.
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