Jonny Williams has admitted he never expected to still be at Ipswich beyond his initial month-long deal.
Town also thought he would be on his way back to Crystal Palace after last month’s 1-1 home draw with Nottingham Forest and even presented him with a farewell present — a shirt emblazoned with his Joniesta nickname.
But with Palace’s Premier League survival battle going so well — they beat Chelsea 1-0 at Selhurst Park on the same day Town drew with Forest and have now clocked up four successive league wins — the Eagles had a change of heart.
Williams said: "The shirt was a nice touch from the manager and the staff. I thought I was going back to Palace and I was actually driving back there when I got a phone call.
"I spoke to Tony Pulis and we agreed to extend the loan with a 24-hour recall clause. I was happy with that because we were doing well at Ipswich and we’ve won our last two games to get right back in the play-off chase.
"I also went into the training ground and spoke to Tony Pulis. He said he was very happy with the progress I had made and that he had plans for what he wanted me to do while I was here.
"He said I had been doing well, scored a good goal against Derby and that he had been down to watch that game. He said I was fantastic so it was nice to hear that from my manager.
"He just said he wanted me to carry on with what I was doing and if they needed to call me back they would. It’s been perfect to be fair because all I wanted to do was play and preferably in a central role in a good team.
"The lads have been fantastic because it’s hard coming into a tight group, which it is. I’ve been accepted and I feel as if I have been here all season. It’s only been between one and two months but it feels like it’s been ages. It’s just a lovely place and the hotel staff, fans, everyone has been so welcoming and it’s been really great here.”
Williams is hoping to add to his goal against Derby, a spectacular long-distance strike, and he admitted: "One thing I tended not to do when I first broke into the Palace team was take shots but I’ve been doing it a lot more since I’ve been playing regularly here. You get used to the game and different situations.
"TC and the gaffer have focused on that, me getting into goalscoring positions, and there was a chance at Huddersfield that I should have done better with. Who knows what could happen on another day, but it’s something I’m looking to improve upon. I’ve always been able to create chances for my team-mates but I’d like to get more goals.”
Williams also reflected on the colourful nickname of Joniesta, which represents a massive compliment as it compares him to the Barcelona and Spain playmaker Andres Iniesta.
He said: "I’m not entirely sure but I think it came from another youth team player at Palace or maybe the fans when I first broke through. It kind of just stuck and when I was going to games I could see someone had made T-shirts, which was all a bit surreal.
"Of course my dad bought one — he’s my biggest fan. It’s nice and it’s a compliment but Iniesta doesn’t score as many goals. If I played the number of games that he does I’d score more!”