Striker Steve Davies says Town continued to show interest in him right up to him signing for Bristol City yesterday, but he felt the proposed switch was taking too long and that Derby County didn’t want to do a deal with the Blues. Town had been in negotiations with the Rams regarding the 24-year-old since May but without being able to agree a fee.
While flattered by the Blues’ interest, Davies said he got the impression that a move to Portman Road just wasn’t going to happen: "I knew about City's interest two weeks ago and I had a call from Derby late on Sunday night to say they had given me permission to speak to them.
"I spoke to the manager for about half an hour, he told me his plans for the club and knew then that I wanted to be a part of it.
"I could have still gone to Ipswich up until 10 minutes before I signed, but that had gone on for a little bit too long and I just had a good feeling about Bristol City.
"I'm grateful for Ipswich for their interest, but I'm not too sure Derby were keen on doing a deal with them."
Davies, who Town boss Paul Jewell brought to Pride Park from Tranmere during his spell as manager there, has signed a three-year contract at Ashton Gate, the Robins and Rams having agreed a fee believed to be £750,000.