New Town signing Jason De Vos seems to be a player the scouting staff at Portman Road have been watching for some while, as long as four years in fact.
Checking the TWTD archives, we discovered we first reported interest in the Canadian international back in August 2000, during his days with Dundee United: "Town are being linked with Canadian international defender Jason De Vos. The 26- year-old is currently at Dundee United and would probably cost Town around £1.5 million mark.
"The defender is 6ft 4in tall and cost Dundee United £400,000 when he joined them two years ago.
"Town chief scout Colin Suggett is believed to rate De Vos very highly and has apparently been watching him since his spell with Darlington, prior to his move to Scotland."
De Vos clearly had a less than harmonious relationship with former Town striker Alex Mathie during his time at Tannadice.
In October 2000 after Mathie had left the Scottish Premier League club he launched an attack on De Vos: "I can only think of one guy I haven't really liked in my career. Jason isn't very popular with the players because he tells the manager everything."
In contrast, the Blues' new signing appears to have been popular member of the squad at the JJB Stadium, as well as with Latics' fans.