Town will have to look elsewhere for their new first-choice keeper with number one target Tomasz Kuszczak completing a Bosman free move to Brighton and Hove Albion this evening, signing a two-year deal. As reported in April, the 30-year-old Pole, who was released by Manchester United at the end of the season, was the man Paul Jewell wanted to see between the Portman Road sticks next season.

Brighton boss Gus Poyet was delighted to win the race for the one-time West Brom man, who was also being chased by sides in Germany: "There were clubs in England and abroad interested in Tomasz, but it says a lot for the ambition of this club that he wanted to sign for Brighton.

"We had been tracking his progress for some time and he will provide real competition to both Casper Ankergren and Peter Brezovan for the goalkeeper’s jersey this coming season — and that can only be a good thing for the team moving forward."

Kuszczak outlined why he chose to join the Seagulls: "I have played Premier League football for eight years, with West Bromwich Albion and Manchester United, and I believe the structure is in place here to join them.

"The manager and coaching staff, the team, stadium, crowds, through to the plans for the new training ground, everything is geared up for playing at the highest level and I could sense that ambition to be a top club straight away.

"Also when I played against Brighton last season, while on loan at Watford, I was very impressed with the way the team played - it was totally different to the rest of the Championship and more like what I was used to at Manchester United.

"This team likes to pass the ball, they like to create, they are attractive to watch. The way Brighton play is the future of football. I had other clubs who wanted to sign me but my heart told me that this was the right choice."

In addition to their interest in Kuszczak, the Blues sounded out former Peterborough keeper Joe Lewis prior to his move to Cardiff, while QPR’s Paddy Kenny has also been mentioned in connection with Town, however, is expected to be reunited with Neil Warnock at Leeds United.

Watford’s Scott Loach, Manchester United youngster Ben Amos, former Aston Villa man Brad Guzan and Birmingham’s Colin Doyle, who was recently offered new terms by the Midlanders, have all also been linked.

Photo: Action Images

Photo: Action Images

bluedragon added 12:05 - Jun 20 yes kuszczak had talks with Ipswich on monday but after meeting with clegg he chose to be Brighton number three and not are number one . Clegg is at Ipswich for the 150k a year you can,t sell a football if you know f-ck all about the game
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gibbo added 12:12 - Jun 20 I know people keep saying we are moaning, we are not we are just worried, the new season requires 7 subs which means we need 18 fit players every game, at the moment we have a full squad of 17 players (including only 1 keeper) add in the odd injury or suspension and we may find ourselves not ever having the 11 required to start a match. I know it is early days but the season is fastly upon us.

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RetroBlue added 12:13 - Jun 20 This player was NOT at ITFC for talks, and it is all local paper gossip to drum up sales in the close season, oh and to stick the knife into anything ITFC - as you'd expect from a scum owned rag.
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blues1 added 12:28 - Jun 20 was determined not to answer the noronic comments of some on here but find myself having to. roysthe boy? what a ridiculous statement. he didnt sign because cleggs got the personality of a sheep? so u know that he even spoke to clegg? no, of course not. in fact he probably not spoken to ne1 at the club. for all we know, we may never have been trying to sign him. just rumour in the press. i for 1 have not heard ne 1 at itfc actually say that we wanted him. only the presss attributing comments to pj. for those of you suggesting we no ambition? well, assuming for a mo we were after him, does that show no ambition then? if ur answer to that is yes, must mean you think hes no good. clearly many of you who criticise for the sake of it are youngsters who just wanna be controversial. well frankly, i dont want fans at our club who are of that ilk. bluedragon, u name me 1 club in this division who have signed more than a couple of players so far, as have we. nothing much gonna happen for a few weeks yet. if come the end of july we havent signed the majority of the players we need then u may have grounds for criticism. until then, if you cant at least be constructive then please dont comment at all. and remember all those of you who continue to accuse clegg of not being able to sign ne1, that he signed 14 players last summer. rather mutes your point, dont you think?

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WorcesterBlue added 12:38 - Jun 20 Paulo Gazaniga is a good shout from the 2 games I saw him play in last season. Add Henry, Jacobs, Richie and St. Ledger who are surely the types of players we are really after and I'd be happy at that (well maybe another CD would be good!). Dream on - I'll be seeing England in the semis next!!
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WorcesterBlue added 12:44 - Jun 20 And agreed Blue1 - I may not agree with all you say and I'm certainly not be in the pro PJ camp but I would rather both sides of these arguments would stop taking cheap shots at people who they disagree with and instead back up their arguments with facts or informed opinions.
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blues1 added 12:48 - Jun 20 brighton eye. i was not gonna criticise you in ne way. i for 1 dont have a problem with ne1 wanting to sign for your club rather than ours. not sure we even wanted him as he not actually that good a keeper neway but thats another story. but for you to criticise what is actually the most used football website in this country, bar none, and is among the top websites there are is rather churlish of you. can only assume that its much better than ur own clubs website or why would you be on here neway. can only assume ur fans are still bitter about the banner at the amex last season, so wanna have a dig back at our fans will say, while there may have been some truth in what the banner saying, i do think it was an unnecessary thing to do and i wouldnt have had ne part in it. guess some people were still a bit miffed that theyd given their hard earned money to help ur club out then u get a major credit card company bail you out. good luck to you, i say. wouldnt say no to that happening if our club needed it.

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blues1 added 12:52 - Jun 20 worcesterblue. im neither for or against pj. while id happily have seen him go last midseason, im willing to give him the chance to put things right. if we were to have another bad start next season then i think hed have to go. but yer, exactly, too many on here just criticise because they dont know what else to say.
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simonsays added 13:06 - Jun 20 Oh what a surprise. Clegg out!
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RedDust added 13:21 - Jun 20 Let's have it right Suffolk as a Place is beautiful but Ipswich is a dead end place with very little to offer!!! Now the variation in wage that Brighton can offer compared to Ipswich will be very minor plus I'm sure he's made a fair wack from united, so that only leaves the fact that Brighton is a very vibrant and upbeat place to live which must of played a big part in his decision!! Just look at most of the posters on this site... And that will tell you the zeitgeist of the Ipswich people is not generally a positive one!! And a little bit of his poyet works for them too!!

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rosseden added 13:32 - Jun 20 you have it right there RedDust.... Brighon is very cosmopolitan, very vibrant and if you have the money is a brilliant place to live..... Suffolk definitly has the appeals if you have a family and want a quieter life, but in reality the two are chalk and cheese.....
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Guthrum added 13:33 - Jun 20 Poyet is a highly-regarded manager, Brighton have a nice new stadium and have done well the last few seasons (tho they did only finish five points better than us, with a decent win each way - rather forgotten by some of their supporters, it seems). Quite an attractive prospect. But then we're not too shabby ourselves. Manager with a record of success, good facilities (everyone says so) and a developing team (Martin, JET, Smith, Cresswell) with a sprinkling of stars (Chopra, Bullard). We might not have missed out by much (assuming a formal approach was made), but the lad can only sign for one club and we're unlikely to ever know what offers were on the table and from whom.

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eaii added 13:34 - Jun 20 Why are people saying Guzan then? if he is going to cost money or demand a decent wage then he wont come here. I was going to say our squad will be full of Eastern Europeans and Africans but in football that would not be a bad thing. I bet Clegg is on a competative wage?
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Blue041273 added 13:52 - Jun 20 What people need to realise quickly is that our stock in the football world has fallen dramatically in recent years. 'Ipswich wants you' is not the call that turns players' heads these days. Sure we should still be able to attract players from the lower leagues, but if we are going to improve we need to augment such signings with players of recognised quality. The goalkeeping position is a case in point. A signing from the lower leagues might be considered useful as a long term strategy but we need a quality goalkeeper in the short term. ALB can provide back up but few would back him as the acknowledged No 1 next season. Kuszczak was a good call, but can anyone seriously criticise him for choosing Brighton? (If indeed we ever got close to giving him a serious choice). One look at their squad for next season and the depth of quality is apparent (as opposed to ours currently which looks distinctly threadbare). We now need to move on; as well as a GK we need several other quality signings before we can claim to be on the same level as Brighton and be in a position to challenge next season.

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Gazelle added 13:53 - Jun 20 Hope we go for Guzan before Accrington outbit us.
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tim added 13:57 - Jun 20 The real problem is that we're bored with these non-stories.
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MattinLondon added 14:06 - Jun 20 I'm not all concerned about this as he isn't an amazing keeper -yes he is good- but not good enough to break the wage structure. If he was premier league class then I'm guessing a few premier league clubs would of taken a punt on him (and offered him more money) Good luck to him, good luck to Brighton, but lets move on.
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jas0999 added 14:10 - Jun 20 Disappointing. Whatever spin the Pro PJ people want to put on this, PJ has now failed to land his two top targets. The reality is that Ward chose Palace because of thier 'young/hungry manager'. Now it's pretty much ditto with the Keeper. All we have to show so far is a player with limited experience, who played for a team relegated to the conference and who is out INJURED until at least OCTOBER. I have no doubt this is a positive move for the future, but what about next season? It would seem that so far Jewell has been unable to attract players - particularly if they are wanted by other clubs. There is much for PJ to do. It's not panic stations, but certainly with pre-season training now in sight, it's a worry that key players for key positions have not been signed. We are still a very weak squad - and despite the usual tripe and spin - have not yet addressed it. PJ needs to earn his money, learn from past mistakes and build a team capable of challenging for promotion. Another season of mid-table will not be good enough - especially after being in charge for a season and a half already.

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rosseden added 14:21 - Jun 20 Jas - where did PJ come out and say this guy was his top choice? can you link it please. i cant find it anywhere....... cheers
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MattinLondon added 14:23 - Jun 20 Jas0999 Why do you always have to try and divide people between being pro or anti Jewell? We are all Town supporters and should get behind the manager. If his team fails to perform after a couple of months this season then that will be a different story. But for now PLEASE just wait and see who he brings in and gt behind the team
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blues1 added 14:30 - Jun 20 jas0999. while i agree there is still much to do, youre wrong with your comments on 2 points. 1. we have also signed the french midfielder to all intensive purposes, bar agreeing the compensation with his previous clubs, whicjh will happen. ok, maybe not the signing some hoping for, but all the same makes your comment incorrect. 2. how do you know pjs missed out on his 2 top targets. as some including myself have said, no1 actually knows if kuszcak was ever a target for us. just press speculation. and no, im not pro pj before you accuse me of backing him out of blind loyalty. and we have to remember, which not many on here seem to take into account, that hardly ne1 are signing that many players at this moment in time. the time to worry is if we still not signed up players for the main positions we need, come the end of july.

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buryblue77 added 14:47 - Jun 20 If he did have talks and we lost out on another player then I'm disappionted.The thing is as many have said we will never know (unless palyer or agent admit to it, unlikely) whether he was ever talked to by us. Maybe it was just another media hyoed story, or a clever piece of mind games work to throw other clubs off our real target. If in a months time we haven't added some experienced players to what is needed to make up the core of the team then I shall be worried, at the moment most of us who are unhappy (I'm not happy with the current situation, but it's not doom and gloom time yet) seem to think this is the end of ITFC, this season is an important one, however. One thing we all must remember, we punched above our weight in the mid 70's to early 80's and found considerable success, but we don't have a given right to be up there and especially with the amount of investment currently going on, a return to the glory years will not be coming any time soon. Time will tell if we can ever compete at the top end of this division and we certainly need more money spent on good players in order to achieve that.

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Blue041273 added 15:31 - Jun 20 Why are so many people in denial that TK was ever a target? It has been widely reported for several weeks that he was, and given our GK situation that's not a surprise. The obvious question that if he was never a target, then why not? I would have thought that we would be keeping tabs on every player in the UK particularly those that are immediately available. OK terms might have been an issue and perhaps PJ was lukewarm about him in the end but surely he must have come under consideration at some point.

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nitroblue1970 added 15:46 - Jun 20 100 comments for a players that isnt ours....amazing!
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MattinLondon added 16:13 - Jun 20 Ipswich isn't actually that bad a place to live
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