It was a case of “fancy seeing you here” when former England youth colleagues Hayden Coulson and Kyle Edwards met up again recently and struck up an immediate rapport in their first game as Town team-mates.
The reunion came in last week’s 2-2 home draw with MK Dons, a game that not only marked defender Coulson’s debut since joining on a season-long loan from Middlesbrough, but was also winger Edwards’s first at home following a free transfer move after he decided to reject the offer of a new contract at West Bromwich Albion.
They first got to know each other while on duty with the England U16 and U17 squads before Coulson graduated to U18 and U19 levels, while Edwards later rejoined the international scene as an U20 player.
Coulson said: "It was good to see Kyle again when I arrived at the club. I know him as a guy who’s easy to get on with, both on and off the field, and I think I’m the same type.
"We both know what we’re good at so there’s a bit of a connection there and hopefully the way we teamed up against MK Dons will continue in the future.
"I’ve played for England with several top players. For example, I made my debut alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold and he’s gone on to do pretty much everything, hasn’t he?
"Tom Davies of Everton was another one but there were plenty of others who are still the game and doing well.
"It was a good time for me, a nice feeling to think I was one of the best players in my position in the country. Playing with the best players around me in other positions made it a very enjoyable experience.”
Like so many others, left-back Coulson also believes he benefited from his earlier loan moves to both St Mirren and Cambridge United during the 2018/19 season, spending the early part north of the border and scoring his first senior goal in a 6-0 hammering of Dumbarton in the League Cup, before clocking up 14 outings, eight of which were from the bench, in League Two.
Coulson added: "Loans don’t always work out, for whatever reason, but I enjoyed my time at both clubs. Stuff like one manager getting sacked and another one coming in had an effect because the new man wanted his own team but it still served a purpose for me, even mentally in learning how to cope with difficult situations that can arise.”
Asked if he was looking to cement a place with one club and stay with them for a few seasons, Coulson replied: "At any age it would be nice to fully settle down somewhere and know where you are. If that’s going to be Middlesbrough or elsewhere we’ll obviously have to wait and see.
"My move to Ipswich is going alright but I’ve only played one game so far and I want to play many more.
"Off the pitch I’m spending most of my time online — literally every afternoon — scrolling through the property websites like Rightmove and ringing estate agents to see if I can find suitable accommodation.
"I’m hoping to get something sorted pretty soon, maybe even in the next few days. The trouble is, so many of the lads are in the same boat and we’re all looking for similar types of houses.”
Coulson wants to play his part in a promotion challenge this season and while Town are still seeking their first win of the new campaign he believes it won’t be long before things click and they start to climb towards the top of the table.
"We all know we need a win,” he added. "If you look back over the previous games it’s been silly mistakes that have cost us points.
"Without them there would have been wins and we’d have more points on the board. It’s about getting back to the basics, the type of football the gaffer wants, and then I’m more than sure the points will come.
"There’s no panic at the moment and as a defender I’m looking to do my bit in keeping a few clean sheets. If you can stop the opposition scoring and let your attackers go and score it means you are bound to win games. It will come.”
Meanwhile, Coulson is looking forward to some family support at forthcoming games, despite the distance between his home town of Gateshead and Ipswich. He added: "My parents are going to try to get down for the home game against Bolton next month and there are away games coming up that are within an hour or two, so they’ll hopefully see me then as well.
"I’ve got two brothers and we all played football. They both got struck with injury at a young age or I’m sure they would have gone on to do well in the game. I’ve been fortunate so far that I’ve managed to keep going without any serious injury problems.
"It’s a big part of the professional game and a lot of players have suffered the same as my brothers did.
"You can’t take every day for granted in this game, you just need to keep training and do everything else that’s required of you if you want to become successful in your career.”