Town are understood to be close to signing Rotherham United striker Danny Ward. Speaking on Thursday, boss Mick McCarthy, who is also looking to land Fulham frontman Cauley Woodrow, said he was hopeful of adding to his squad early in the transfer window.
The 26-year-old, who scored twice for the Millers in the 2-2 draw with the Blues at Portman Road in October, is out of contract in the summer and bottom-of-the-table Rotherham, who look odds-on to drop into League One, are believed to be willing to accept a fee of around £500,000 for the striker, who would otherwise leave on a free transfer in the summer.
Ward was a schoolboy with hometown club Bradford before joining the Leeds youth set-up and then moving on to Bolton. While with the Trotters he made two senior sub appearances and spent time on loan with Swindon, Coventry and Huddersfield.
He made his move to the Terriers a permanent one in the summer of 2011 for a fee believed to be in the region of £1 million.
Ward was previously targeted by the Blues in 2014 during his time with Huddersfield but he signed a new contract before eventually joining the Millers in January 2015 initially on loan before a fee was agreed and he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Ward, who is naturally left-sided and 5ft 11in tall, has scored nine goals for Rotherham this season.
Speaking after the game at Portman Road, Ward confirmed the 2014 interest from Town: "It was a while ago that McCarthy and the gaffer [then-Millers boss Kenny Jackett] tried to sign me while he was at Wolves and I was at Huddersfield,” he recalled.
"Neither materialised for one reason or another. Nothing got agreed with Ipswich or Wolves.”
As previously reported, the Blues are also believed to be closing in on the signing of 22-year-old Fulham striker Woodrow, who is currently out of favour at Craven Cottage and is understood to be available on loan.
Meanwhile, the Blues and Aldershot are in talks regarding extending midfielder Kundai Benyu’s loan with the Vanarama National League side.
The 19-year-old joined the Shots early in December and has made one start and one sub appearance.