TWTD understands that winger Alex Henshall is set to join up with the Blues squad for pre-season training later this week, having agreed to sign the contract which was offered to him at the end of last season. The 20-year-old is out of contract at the end of the month having been released by Manchester City.
Henshall spent time on trial at Portman Road before signing on loan for the remainder of the season at the end of March.
The 5ft 10 in tall England U16 and U17 international was a first-team substitute on a number of occasions but without making it onto the field.
However, he impressed manager Mick McCarthy enough in training and in the U21s to be offered terms, believed to be a one-year deal, while we understand that there was also interest from lower-ranked Premier League clubs before he opted to return to Portman Road.
Born in Swindon, Henshall was a youth player with his hometown club but moved to Manchester City when 16 in the summer of 2010 having been on the Robins’ first-team bench twice. A number of other Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, also showed interest at that time.
He spent time on loan at Chesterfield making one start and six sub appearances during 2012/13 and made another league start, in which he scored his first senior goal, and another appearance from the bench while on loan at Bristol Rovers earlier in the 2013/14 campaign.
Earlier today, Henshall tweeted a hint that he would be involved in pre-season training later this week but without naming his new club: "Actually scared for Friday! Gonna be a blow."
The Town squad are due back at Playford Road on Friday for tests and assessment ahead of the start of pre-season training in earnest on Monday.
Meanwhile, we understand the clubs and authorities are still discussing the switch of the home Norwich derby currently set for Saturday 23rd August to the following day with a 12 noon kick-off.
The situation is complicated by railway engineering work taking place on the Sunday, which means that there will be no trains running from Norfolk.
Confirmation is likely next week, while it’s understood that Norwich are keen on the derbies returning to their traditional Saturday kick-offs having usually been moved to Sundays since the late 1990s.
Other Town fixtures which could potentially change date include the home game with Charlton scheduled for Sunday 28th December, which may switch to the Tuesday of that week, and the AFC Bournemouth match which could be brought forward a day to Good Friday from Saturday 4th April.
Both games are currently only separated from other matches by only two days, a situation manager Mick McCarthy was unhappy with when it occurred during the last Easter period, the Cherries having visited Portman Road only two days after a trip to Watford.
Photo: ITFC