On-loan midfielder Gary Roberts has signed a contract which will keep him at Portman Road from January until June 2010. The former Liverpool trainee has been on loan from Accrington Stanley since October.

Boss Jim Magilton told the club site that is pleased to make the 22-year-old a permanent addition to his squad: "We are delighted that Gary is joining us.

"We watched him several times but it was a calculated gamble when we brought him here initially. It was a big step up for him but we were confident that he had all the attributes to take that step in his stride.

"He has a freshness about him, a hunger to want to play at the highest level. In some ways it's a second chance for him in the game and he's desperate to take it with both hands.

"The lad's improving his all-round game and I can only see him getting better, and I'm sure he will prove to be a good signing for Ipswich Town."

The Blues are likely to have to pay Stanley £200,000 on top of the £50,000 loan fee the League Two side have already received.

With Roberts's future settled, Cork City midfielder George O'Callaghan is expected to become Town's second signing of the new transfer window. The 27-year-old, who has been on trial since September, is likely to cost the Blues a low five-figure sum.

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