Blues left-back Matt Penney is expected to return to Portman Road at least temporarily with his six-month loan with Motherwell having come to an end following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Ross County.
The 24-year-old has enjoyed an impressive half-season at Fir Park, carrying off the club’s October and November Player of the Month awards having made 18 appearances in total.
According to the Daily Record, Blues boss Kieran McKenna is likely to assess Penney before making a decision on the full-back’s future.
However, an eventual return to Motherwell seems the most likely scenario with the Scottish Premiership side’s manager Steven Hammell having said earlier this month: "We’ve been in dialogue with Matty and with Ipswich, and we’re hoping that we can come to a conclusion with that.”
Quizzed about Penney at the end of December, Blues boss McKenna said: "Matt Penney’s loan expires in the middle of January, so for the moment he’s playing and playing an important role and doing well there.
"That’s good and he’ll see out that loan move and we’ll have those discussions in a few weeks’ time with him about what the next step is.”
Penney, who joined the Blues on a two-year deal with the club having an option for a further season after leaving Sheffield Wednesday in the summer of 2021, made 21 starts and five sub appearances for Town, scoring once, prior to his summer move to Scotland.