Blues midfielder Massimo Luongo has revealed he came close to a move back to Australia last summer.
The 30-year-old, who signed a new one-year contract at Portman Road earlier in the week, joined the Blues following a trial in January and was a key man as Town romped to promotion from League One and is still to finish on the losing side during his second spell with the club, having previously been on loan from Spurs as a youngster a decade ago.
However, that wouldn't have happened had the Sydney-born schemer not opted out of a move back to Australia and the Isuzu UTE A-League prior to joining Middlesbrough last summer for a frustrating spell which saw him unable to break into the first team.
"I said yes to Perth Glory,” Luongo told KEEPUP in a lengthy interview. "I said, ‘yeah I’m going’. Nothing was happening in the transfer window.
"[Then-Glory head coach] Ruben [Zadkovich] called me and I said yeah. I gave it a lot of time and eventually I said 'yeah I’ll be on a plane by the end of the week'.
"In that week, I managed to train with a lot of teams in the Championship [Reading among them as well as Boro] and I was like, I’m still a good player. I called him and said 'I still fancy myself, I can still do a lot here'.
"The thought of going there was nice because it’s home, even though it’s Perth and I’m from Sydney. The thought of going there was nice, lifestyle-wise, yes. But can I see myself doing it? Probably not.
"Will they take an older player in three-four years? Maybe. But this is home for me now.”
Reflecting on returning to the second tier with the Blues, he said: "I’m so glad I did it with Ipswich. It was good to re-establish and find my form again, and find my passion again. Doing it in a team that plays really nice football with a club that’s going in the right direction, they want to build and want to get to the Premier League.”
Asked whether he has given up on adding to his 43 full Australia caps and six international goals, the one-time Tottenham youngster reflected: "I speak to some people in the staff and pick their minds a bit, and I mention Ipswich. Not so much for me, I’m 30 and the next World Cup I’ll be 33, will I be there? Probably not. You have young boys at 27 who will be in their prime going into a World Cup.
"Me and Cameron Burgess talk about it all the time. He is in a position where in three years’ time, he is 30 and he will be in a really good position with loads of games under his belt.
"I’m thinking, have you seen this Ipswich team? Yes I’m part of it but the way we’re playing, we’re playing unbelievable football. Okay it’s League One, but I won the [2015] Asian Cup playing with Swindon Town so how can you overlook playing for a League One side?
"They have no idea. The problem is no one watches League One. The Championship yeah. I’d probably say now, 10 years ago probably no one was really watching it.
"If someone calls me up, I couldn’t say no. But I’m not even looking at myself, I’m looking at people in a position similar to me who will go down to League One and play. Is there a chance for them? I don’t think so.
"Yeah, you’d rather play for a top team and get less minutes and you’ll probably have a better chance of playing for the national team. I’ve casted off myself but if it happens, I couldn’t say no.”