Town have signed Tottenham defender Cameron Carter-Vickers on loan for the rest of the season.
The 20-year-old USA international came through the youth system at White Hart Lane, where he worked with the Blues' head of player and coaching development Bryan Klug during his spell as assistant academy director at Spurs.
Southend-born Carter-Vickers joined the Tottenham academy aged seven and progressed through the ranks and has made four starts for his parent club, two in the FA Cup, two in the Carabao Cup.
The 6ft 1in tall central defender joined Sheffield United on loan in August and made 18 starts for the Blades, scoring his only senior goal so far on his debut in a 1-0 win at Bolton, where the Blues are in action tomorrow coincidentally.
His final game for the South Yorkshiremen was their 1-0 FA Cup victory over Town earlier in the month.
Carter-Vickers says it's been quite a week for him with his spell at Bramall Lane coming to a surprise end and then his move to the Blues.
"I didn’t expect to be called back," he told iFollow Ipswich. "I thought I would be at Sheffield for the season but then I got told Ipswich wanted me.
"It’s all happened very quickly but I know Ipswich are a big club and it’s an exciting opportunity for me.
"I looked at the Championship table and Ipswich are only four points off the play-offs so hopefully I can help the team push on and compete for the top six places.
"I’ve really enjoyed Championship football. It’s a demanding league and there are a lot of big clubs in the division. Ipswich are one of them and I’m thankful for the chance to come and play here.”
The defender, who will wear the Town number 27 shirt, qualifies for the USA through his father, Howard Carter, who was a notable basketball player for the Denver Nuggets and Louisiana State University in the 1980s, and has won one senior cap in addition to appearances at U18, U20 and U23 levels.
Carter-Vickers will go straight into the squad for Saturday's game at Bolton with his recruitment allowing Tommy Smith to complete his switch to the Colorado Rapids.
Town are also expected to announce the signing of Stephen Gleeson from Birmingham this morning with that move now understood to be a short-term deal to the end of the season with the 29-year-old midfielder set to have his contract at St Andrew's, which was due to be up at the end of the season, terminated.