Current Town loanee Kieffer Moore has thanked Town for helping to develop and transform his career by taking a chance on him seven years ago when they signed him from Forest Green Rovers in a £25,000 deal.
The move didn’t exactly work out, much to the regret of both parties, but the player recognises that coming to Portman Road from the National League proved to play a pivotal part in his progression to the Welsh international and Premier League player he is today.
Moore, 31, made 11 substitute appearances without scoring after then boss Mick McCarthy swooped for him in January 2017, but one of his outings came in a 1-0 away defeat at Rotherham and home boss Paul Warne was immediately won over by the Torquay-born striker’s performance after he replaced Teddy Bishop in the 63rd minute.
Warne followed up his interest by agreeing a loan switch to the Millers, who had been relegated to League One, and in the first half of the 2017/18 campaign Moore netted 13 times in 22 appearances, which prompted Championship outfit Barnsley to sign him on a permanent £750,000 deal in the January 2018 transfer window.
The striker joined Wigan in August 2019, then Cardiff for £2 million just 12 months later, and he was on his travels again, this time to Bournemouth in January 2022, in a reported £5 million move that saw him score the match-winning goal against Nottingham Forest, earning the Cherries promotion back to the top flight.
Moore is now hoping to add to his six goals in 15 league games – 13 starts and two from the bench – since returning on loan in January as Town go into the final week of the season with a great opportunity to climb back into the Premier League following a 22-year gap.
Recalling his first spell as a Town player in 2017, he said: "It was interesting… no, it was good. I think for me, in the position I was in – I’d found myself back in non-league before coming here – it was exactly what I needed at that point in my career, to come back into the Championship.
"It didn’t go the way I maybe wanted it to, but I was maybe a player in transition at that point, trying to find my style of play, what worked best for me and what my strengths and weaknesses were.
"I think all it took was for someone to show a bit of faith in me and coming here was the start of that. It led to the loan move to Rotherham and I worked under a great manager in Paul Warne, who brought that out in me.
"It was a frustrating time as well but I found myself back in the EFL. I had to grab that opportunity with both hands and I will always be grateful to Ipswich for giving me the chance. That’s football, isn’t it? It paved the way to a new chapter in my career and I’ve loved the way things have developed since then.”
Asked if he would like to make the move to Ipswich permanent, he remained coy and added: "I’ve still got a year left at Bournemouth, so we’ll see what happens in the summer.”
By then, of course, the Blues could be in the Premier League, either by winning automatic promotion or via the play-offs, and as someone who has already secured a place in the top flight for his parent club Bournemouth when he netted the goal that took them to promotion when they beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 in May 2022, he admitted it had been a subject of debate between him and his Town colleagues.
Moore added: "That goal against Forest was an unbelievable moment for me. If I can replicate that over the next three games, I will, definitely.
"I’m really enjoying my time here and loving every second of it. Working with the gaffer, meeting up with the lads again, it’s been unbelievable.
"I get the lads talking to me all the time about what it was like winning promotion to the Premier League. The best advice I can give them is not to overcomplicate the situation.
"We’ve got to this point in the season, where we’ve done certain things, and to change anything now would be stupid. Just stick to what you’ve been doing all season – it has clearly worked – and just think of the bigger picture. Just solely focus on the task ahead.”
Needless to say, Moore has noticed quite a few changes in his second spell at Portman Road, and he agreed it had been like chalk and cheese. He continued: "I wouldn’t say there have been wholesale changes but the whole vibe of the place, it’s such a positive, amazing environment to be in.
"I could tell straight away from just walking through the door that it was a completely different atmosphere from when I played a few games here seven years ago to what it’s like now with the fans turning out in such large numbers.
"It’s unbelievable, the whole dynamic and the vibe around the place is so infectious and it is such a good place to be in.
"The fans really make Portman Road a special place to play in and you only need to look at the results throughout the whole season here to see that teams don’t like coming here and why we pick up such good results at home.”