Blues boss Mick McCarthy believes his summer signings should make his midfield a more potent force in the season to come.
McCarthy has added last season’s loan star Emyr Huws and Tom Adeyemi on a permanent basis and Bersant Celina on loan from Manchester City.
"Tom himself got eight goals last year, he got almost as many as our midfield did all season,” McCarthy reflected. "I’m hoping he’s going to replicate that.
"And, of course, Emyr had a very big impact when he came in and scored his goals, the most memorable against Newcastle.
"It’s looking a lot better and hopefully we can get Bish back fit and playing. And I really do like Flynn Downes as well, I think he’ll contribute this season.”
Owner Marcus Evans has loosened the purse strings to a greater degre this summer with both Huws and striker Joe Garner understood to have cost in the region of a million pounds.
Asked whether the Huws deal would have been one which couldn’t have been done last summer, McCarthy said: "It’s just been done, hasn’t it? It does make it a lot easier when he’s been at the club and he’s been such a success as he was to be able to do that deal.
"I’m pleased Marcus has done it. It’s not a cheap deal by any stretch, and he’s a good player. I think there’s goodness in him, he’s 23, I think, he can get a lot better. I’m delighted he’s signed.”
McCarthy wouldn’t comment on whether there was a loan fee to bring Celina to Portman Road but says that that also wasn’t a cheap signing.
"You have to take care of their salaries,” he added. "I wouldn’t speak about specifics of the deal, I’m just pleased that we’ve got him. He got five goals playing for FC Twente last year.
"He plays wide left and comes in on his right foot or he plays in behind. He’s a good footballer. But as yet I haven’t seen him with us. He came and just did a little bit of training and then he’s been poorly.”
Is there still any money left in the pot? "We’ll see. It depends whether we lose anybody, of course. I’d really like to have a really solid squad, I think we’re getting there, but we might lose some, so we’re still looking.”
Earlier in the week McCarthy mentioned interest in one of his players but he says there’s been no progress on that front: "Not at the moment, we’ll wait until we get back and see if it goes any further.”