Portsmouth winger Michael Jacobs has spoken about coming close to joining the Blues in the summer of 2021.
Jacobs, 31, had been at Portman Road and had passed a medical at the end of that week in early August, Town boss Paul Cook, who had managed the wideman during his period in charge at Fratton Park, having chased him throughout the summer.
However, over the weekend, the Blues became aware that Kyle Edwards was available having been released by West Brom after a trial at AFC Bournemouth came to nothing and opted instead to recruit the former Baggies man, whose signing was duly completed on the Monday.
"It’s one of those things that you see on deadline day, which comes up at the bottom of the screen on Sky Sports and you never really think it’ll happen to you,” Jacobs, who was recently released by Pompey, told BBC Radio Solent.
"I knew Paul Cook really well and I think [THen-Pompey boss] Danny was open to me leaving at the start of the season. That’s where it came from. I’ve spent a lot of my career successfully with Paul and as soon as he said would I be interested? It was a matter of time just to get it done.
"The longer it went on over the weekend, I had an inkling that something was going on with another player down there. I didn't really hear anything on the Monday and after a couple of days I thought something might've been a stumbling block.
"I don’t think it ever came from Paul but it was probably someone else at Ipswich. They signed someone else and I just got integrated back into the group at Pompey but didn’t play much football for six months.
"It was a bit of a strange situation for me because I came off the back of a tough season with injuries under Kenny [Jackett].
"Everything had got agreed and I’d done my medical but nowadays boys become available, fail medicals and all sorts of stuff happens. Not one deal is plain sailing but for me it ended up going that way.
"It didn’t ever affect the way I approached playing for Pompey because I ended up staying for another two years.
"Everyone was sound with me when I came back but it was one of those ones which was perfect for me going down there but it just didn't materialise the way I wanted it to. I was always happy to play for Pompey.”
Quizzed on the Jacobs situation on the Tuesday, the day after Edwards had signed, Cook didn’t want to comment: "There’s nothing to say on Michael, I’m not looking to get involved in any controversy, we’ve had a game tonight and that’s all I want to talk about.”
Cowley wasn't pleased with the way his player had been treated:
"He’s a really good kid and he has been mucked around, messed around. Football never ceases to amaze you, doesn’t it?”