Town midfielder Andy Drury has joined League Two Crawley on a 93-day loan. The 27-year-old was Blues boss Paul Jewell’s first Town signing when he moved from Luton for £150,000 in January but is yet to win a regular place in the side.

Drury says he wants to play games, something which was unlikely at Portman Road: ''I was desperate to get some first team action and as that did not look as if it was going to happen at Ipswich Town in the short term, this is a great move for me.

''I just want to get my head down and work hard. There are a number of talented players here and when everyone is fit there will not be many better than us in League Two. I am looking forward to training today and doing well enough for the manager to think about me for [Saturday's home game against Bradford City]."

Red Devils boss Steve Evans added: "There is no secret that I am a big admirer of Andy Drury. We tried very hard back in January to sign him from Luton Town but it was not to be.

“He is a big strong lad with great ability and our supporters will take to him in a big way, he is a matchwinner and a great signing.

''I spoke to Andy at the start of the week and he showed a real desire to be with us. That was important to me as I only want players who want to work hard and contribute to what we are trying to achieve.”

Drury has made five starts and eight sub appearances for Town since his move from Kenilworth Road.

The deal includes a clause which could see the switch made permanent in the January transfer window.

Former Blues defender Tom Eastman joined Crawley on loan from Colchester earlier in the week.

Photo: Action Images

itfc1981 added 14:35 - Sep 15 About his level I fear.
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suffolkpoker added 14:43 - Sep 15 im glad he is hungry to play first team football
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Blandford added 14:43 - Sep 15 Good luck. Hope it goes well.
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Wallingford_Boy added 14:44 - Sep 15 Never going to make it here, good luck laddo!
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Harry_Palmer added 14:45 - Sep 15 I would have given him a chance here, cant possibly have done any worse the Leadbitter has recently.
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JimmyJazz added 14:51 - Sep 15 Eastman can't even cut it at Colchester!!
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Garv added 14:53 - Sep 15 Very disappointed about this to be honest, still think this guy has a lot to offer. Who do we have now in central midfield? Bullard and Andrews (regular starters), Leadbitter (very poor, much rather have Drury), Healy (I would say can do a job but doesn't set the world alight), Bowyer who I have to admit I have been disappointed with, isn't doing anything AS YET, fitness? Hyam who we havnt seen anything of since this time last year, so you have to imagine he's not up to it. And finally Kennedy, slightly strangely for me one of our best performers so far this season, certainly hasn't done anything wrong. Is that enough?

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Garv added 14:58 - Sep 15 Eastman would not have solved our defensive problems at the start of the season, for those who were saying we should have kept him.
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robdaful added 14:58 - Sep 15 I'm sure he will do well.
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sharvey22 added 14:58 - Sep 15 Good move for him and hope he can show what he's worth!
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RetroBlue added 14:59 - Sep 15 No pace in MF whatsoever. We need that to compliment the craft of Bullard and the doggedness of Andrews. Leadbitter? The sooner he's gone the better!
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petermorris added 15:00 - Sep 15 Clearing the decks for 34 Million Man.
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Surco72 added 15:06 - Sep 15 Why did Jewell let good players like Eastman go and replace with loans ? Beacause Collins,Sonko, and Ivar are much better quality than Eastman and Brown who couldnt make it at this level and it would appear at Colchester either. Glad to see hunger of Drury not content to pick up his wages doing nothing ,offers more than Leadbitter though
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dirtyboy added 15:09 - Sep 15 Dissapointed to be honest, I felt he had presence about him when on the pitch, maybe his only downfall being a little lack of pace. Good luck to him though, hope he impresses, would happily see him back in a blue shirt for another chance.
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saffronblue added 15:16 - Sep 15 Shame, I only saw him a couple of times but always looked to create when he got on the ball, better than some at the club. Good luck to him.
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sonian_blue added 15:23 - Sep 15 'The 27-year-old was Blues boss Paul Jewell's first Town signing when he moved from Luton for £150,000 in January' So PJ has offloaded most of Roys men, now he has started on his own buys. What has changed in the 8 months since he arrived? Constant changing will get us no where. Quickly losing faith in our manager.
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tractorboybig added 15:37 - Sep 15 will sign for them in jan and the way things are going will be playing against us next season
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Brazils_Hair added 15:40 - Sep 15 Agree completely with saffronblue and dirtyboy. Good luck to him. Hope he makes the most of it and will welcome him back.
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jas0999 added 15:42 - Sep 15 A poor signing by PJ. Obviously a likeable lad who no doubt gave his all - but when you sign a player that's 27, who has never played a competitive game of league football in his life, the alarm bells should have been ringing. Nowhere near good enough at this level and at 27 years of age never likely to be. It was a punt, but it didn't pay off. Best of luck to him though.

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petermorris added 15:43 - Sep 15 sonian - PJ has offloaded most of 'Roys men' because, apart from Mac, they were crap and very nearly got us flippin relegated - or don't you remeber the golden days with RK ?
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RetroBlue added 15:47 - Sep 15 I seriously doubt Drury's supposed "lack of pace" was the reason why he didn't get much of a chance. If it was based on this lack of pace , he'd fit right in at ITFC wouldn't he ! I cannot for the life of me see why Leadbitter still gets a place in the team. And its not just based on this season lack of form. He's done buggar all since he's been here. What an utter waste of £2m + by ITFC/ Keane

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ITFC4daprem added 15:50 - Sep 15 hope it gives him a moral boost
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itfcjc added 16:03 - Sep 15 Not a surprise
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sonian_blue added 16:06 - Sep 15 Fair enough PM but will the golden days under PJ be any better? Not at this rate I suggest. Point I am making is that throwing money at constant changes doesnt work. Feel we should concentrate on improving what we have with a bit of hard graft on the training pitch.
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DiamondGezzer added 16:09 - Sep 15 I totally agree with all those who wish him well. Surprised in a way, not about him going on loan, but that he could possibly leave come January. Had high hopes for the lad when he joined. Not being at training every morning, I can only guess that he didn't show the improvement needed to step up that next gear. Shame.
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