Boss Mick McCarthy says left-back Jonas Knudsen is improving all the time, having benefited from his first full season of Championship football.
The 23-year-old has been one of the Blues’ better performers in recent matches, despite facing tough opponents such as Brighton’s Anthony Knockaert.
"I think anybody that comes into English football [is better for their first season],” McCarthy said. "We’ve seen it in the Premier League. I don’t think Thierry Henry, who ended up being one of the best ever, was great in his first bit.
"I’ve heard Premier League managers say before, Sir Alex has said, ‘Six months it took them’. You sign a player in January and you probably don’t see them until August because they have to get that first six months out of the way.
"We’re talking about the Championship and it is a tough old league. When he came and trained, it was nothing like he’d seen before.
"And I thought he had a good first season but he’s improving, he’s getting better and better.
"And he’s getting better and better because he’s so conscientious about it. TC’s great with him, any bit that he wants to see after every game to improve on his performance, he gets him, sits him down and shows him. He’s very, very thoughtful about his game. He’s been a good signing for us. He’s a great lad.”
Soon after the Danish international joined the club from his local side Esbjerg fB for a fee of around £325,000 in the summer of 2015 the squad nicknamed him ‘Mad Dog’, a sobriquet which still persists.
"That’s not one of the things I call him, I have to be honest,” McCarthy added. "It’s a term of endearment though because he’s very competitive and the way he plays.
"I see him playing head tennis and he plays the same way, a five-a-side he plays the same way, keep-ball, closing down, he competes in everything and I love him for it. He does it right, he wants to win, he plays it properly.”
Knudsen has had big shoes to fill at left-back having followed Aaron Cresswell and Tyrone Mings into the role but the Town boss is pleased with his progress.
"He’s improving all the time, he really is,” McCarthy continued. "The other two turned out to be exceptional and he’s getting there, I think.
"He’s a regular player, there’s no doubt about that, but he’s becoming a really consistent performer.”