Town boss Mick McCarthy has confirmed that he expects to confirm the signing of Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles on a season-long loan today.
The Blues squad were in for the first day of pre-season training this morning - photos of the squad in action will follow - but with Maitland-Niles’s deal still to be formally completed the 17-year-old was unable to join his team-mates at Playford Road.
However, McCarthy expects the deal to be sorted this afternoon: "I’m going to speak to him today if everything’s fine. [He’ll be on board] today, I hope."
Having sold Tyrone Mings to AFC Bournemouth for an initial £8 million last week McCarthy has cash to spend but was staying typically tight-lipped on which areas he will be looking to strengthen and any potential targets.
"None that I’m prepared to share with you or anywhere else, or how many because that’s just nonsense telling you that.”
In addition to new signings such as Maitland-Niles, Brett Pitman, Ryan Fraser and anyone else he adds to his squad, McCarthy also wants to see some of the players who came in over the course of last season make an impact.
"I hope the lads that we’ve got that we didn’t see last year, Dylan Connolly, who was excellent in the U21s, I’m hoping he’ll flourish as well, and Alex Henshall, who has come back flying," he added.
"He’s had a personal trainer, I think he’s set his stall out. He had a good end to the season, so I’m hopeful for him as well.”