Leicester midfielder Richie Wellens has joined the Blues on a month's loan, the Blues have confirmed. The 32-year-old has been out of favour with the Foxes this season and is likely to go straight into the squad for Saturday's home live Sky game against Cardiff City.

Wellens told the club site that he was immediately attracted to the prospect of moving to Portman Road when the chance came: "I've been looking to go out on loan and when the opportunity arose to come to Ipswich, I didn't have to think twice.

"Leicester wanted me to go out on loan and when they showed me the list of clubs that I could go to, Ipswich stood out.

"I need to start playing games again after my injury and this is a great opportunity to do that. It's a nice club and I've always enjoyed playing at Portman Road.

"We're down at the bottom of the league at the minute but there are some good players here in the squad so I'm sure the position will soon change."

Central midfielder Wellens started his career with hometown club Manchester United making one League Cup sub appearance before moving on to Blackpool where he played between 2000 and 2005, making 193 starts and 23 sub appearances for the Seasiders.

The 5ft 9in midfielder split the next four years between Oldham and Doncaster before joining Leicester for £1 million in July 2009.

He has made 139 starts and six substitute appearances for the Foxes but has not featured this season. After missing the end of last season and pre-season ahead of 2012/13 with a knee injury, Wellens, who is with Town until November 10th, came close to joining Sheffield United on loan.

Earlier this afternoon, Southend's Bilel Mohsni revealed that he is set to sign a three-month loan with the Blues tomorrow, while Town are believed to have renewed their interest in QPR striker DJ Campbell.

Elsewhere, free agent Nigel Reo-Coker is said to be interesting the Blues but with Wellens having signed the 28-year-old - who was understood to have spoken to Town in the summer of 2011 - would appear an unlikely addition.

Photo: Action Images

h32 added 19:50 - Oct 4 GibbsITFC - a disgrace to the Club with your posts - I suggest you drop the ITFC - and just continue with GIBBS.
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Lightningboy added 19:53 - Oct 4 Moshni,Wellens maybe Campbell...this is like a bloody car boot sale. The way forward eh?! Seriously..what is going on at our beloved football club?
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Lightningboy added 20:04 - Oct 4 + it makes me laugh when anyone's said anything critical of Jewell this week (because we've drawn 2 matches in a row I assume)..they get minuses (lol)....seriously,are you supporters actually happy with the direction this bloke is taking us in?..i.e. down!
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TimmyH added 20:11 - Oct 4 What the hell is the point of this?!?! another central midfielder to add to Jewell's already confused scrabbled brain, so we have Luongo, N'daw, Hyam and now him - this really makes me think Jewell hasn't a clue what he's doing! and on a month's loan which will mean he will certainly see some action and no doubt at the expense of Hyam. Can't believe it.
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runaround added 20:12 - Oct 4 Dont quite get this. No doubt he's a decent player at this level but its only for a month and in an area where we have more cover than most other areas of the pitch. I can see the logic more in Mohsni and Campbell if they come but unsure re Wellens. Echo other comments that Jewell seems to be thrashing about in the dark with loanees just hoping for a stroke of fortune. That said, welcome to ITFC Ritchie

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Farmer_Giles added 20:15 - Oct 4 I don't get this loan, Rio Coker would be a great signing for us. Great engine and has that bite that we are missing, we may have a lot of central midfielders but not a lot of quality. Ham will get there eventually but he seems to play a couple of games and then gets injured
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TimmyH added 20:19 - Oct 4 Totally agree with Lighningboy! - this sudden barrage of loanee signings is not good, what we need is a consolidated team with the same names playing fairly regularly. Good knows how many permutations Jewell's going to get out of these signings, look what's he's done already with the midfield so far this season as an example. Also going back completely on his word of last season that loanee's was only a short term solution and I thought he was now looking to a 'longer' plan.

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ericclacton added 20:22 - Oct 4 I reckon Mr Jewell and Mr Hutchins have been watching the recent European Championship dvd accompanied by a case of brown ale, very impressed with the Spanish team they have decided to play four at the back and six in midfield.
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bluetown added 20:23 - Oct 4 Lightningboy, agree absolutely- arse and elbow , from the decorator Jewell
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JAITFC added 20:32 - Oct 4 He can't get a look in at Leicester but he's good enough for us?
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Talbs77 added 20:46 - Oct 4 I get what everyones saying, the Reo Coker link especially is weird although think thats unlikely as he will want a Premiership wage. Not that bothered as he's crap anyway. But boys were second bottom in the league (again!!) and spose we are desperate (again!!) so what choice have we got. Player here for a month here, another for a month there, god help us!!
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captaincrunch added 20:50 - Oct 4 JAITFC lets be fair here, a player not getting into a team doesn't mean hes not good it can mean several other things. Andy Carroll is a good player and you would expect him to get into Liverpools 11 but he does not. There are tactics to consider as well as synergy within the team. It is not just a case of the best 11 players make the best team. It is not uncommon for a player who can't get into one team be able to get into a different team who could be better if they fit in well enough. After looking at all that, I don't think its that odd that he would come to us and could do very well if the conditions are right. PJ seems to be fussy enough about other players he has looked at so who are we to say this guy isn't going to be just what we are looking for?

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planetblue_2011 added 21:06 - Oct 4 Does this mean Wellens in and lazy Jet out? Should be a good asset for us!
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rogie_dog added 21:14 - Oct 4 Stop moaning. We're second from bottom we need all the help we can get.
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Lightningboy added 21:21 - Oct 4 For the record i've got nothing against Wellens..always thought he's a decent player at this level and hope he does brilliantly for us but the amount of loanees coming in (again) smacks of desperation and of a manager who's run out of ideas and time. The really frustrating thing is that there are much better options out there for us who aren't doing anything at the moment..Billy Davies,Curbishley and yes Burley/Magilton..i'd feel a lot better about our future if it was in the safer hands of a manager who knows what he's doing rather than Jewell,who tbh is showing himself up to be quite amateurish at the moment...only October and we've already gone from one midfield/attack to another...it's not good,just embarrassing.

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neillrumsey added 21:40 - Oct 4 All these loan signings ...this is what took the Canaries down to Div 1 and is likely to do the same for us with this clown in charge. Whatever next !!
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nitroblue1970 added 22:42 - Oct 4 i thought we were a bit short in midfield....had to sign wellens as we missed out on Warky making a comeback as he is on a saga cruise for 4 weeks.....apparantly PJ was in for Maradona as well but we couldnt meet his demands...well not since Adam tanner left the club all those years ago.....( i guess you would have to be of a certain age to get that one!)..i am absolutely distraught at the direction this club is going in ..we are being set adrift in the basement of the league...the only change we will see from this is being sucked into div 1.....we must act now before PJs acts of utter desperation spell disaster...we can save our season if he is removed now and the completely crap coaches manage to coach all the remaining talent OUT of the squad we have now.....

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ericclacton added 22:52 - Oct 4 Please tell me if i am wrong, Wellens is here for one month, which gives him just two games because of the international break. Then he could go back to Leicester, thats mental.
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hairbear added 23:07 - Oct 4 BOOOO BOOOO Good player, bad player waste of time. Anyone who see todays business as anything other than desperation is short sighted and ignorant of whats going on! JEWELL OUT!!! Also for all those who go down the jewell hasn't had the funds argument, loans aren't free! More mismanaged money. JEWELL OUT!!!
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Tractastic added 00:01 - Oct 5 Well maybe some of the mentioned loanee's will happen and help us stay up (maybe)but it hardly means building for the future? Three seasons of poor results,poor tactics and a reliant on loanee's and where are we? Realitly second from bottom!! So much for building a team dedicated to playing for Ipswich with an emphasis on youth? Jewellosaurus hasn't a clue and my anger/frustration is beginning to turn to genuine despair for my beloved club under this useless,desperate management .

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runningout added 00:19 - Oct 5 laid low because of injury for too long.. Current team not willing to take a risk and play him... Prone to temper tantrums.. as much skill as my aunt Lil.. 9 out of 10 for effort.. meet Mr Wellens
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captaincrunch added 01:22 - Oct 5 Even if it is a short term loan that doesn't mean its desperation. We may have other options in time that we perhaps do not have at the moment.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 07:54 - Oct 5 What's PJ supposed to do? He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. I can see the sense of these two signings (Wellen and Campbell). We need some steel and experience in the middle and maybe Wellen (IF he's fit after injury) can give us this. I like the way he already says "We" by the way - sounds committed. Then we just haven't been scoring goals, so if Campbell comes and if he nets a few for a month, then maybe we can achieve our first aim, which is to get out of the relegation area. I have my doubts whether PJ is the man to lead us to the promised land, but I don't know if anyone else can either. The future is very uncertain, and who will be in charge is up in the air. For the moment, let's just concetrate on the present. At least let's give this final (?) throw of the dice a fair try before we condemn it.

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brian_a_mul added 09:41 - Oct 5 Our squad is light and we have lots of youngsters that need support. With financial restrictions the loan option is a good choice to help the squad. Loans are a big part of League football (at most clubs), we have been used to this for years. If a loan player comes in, plays well and improves the team then great. There is the possibility of permanent deals. This will continue to be the case as the football league, it is in transtition due to new financial fairplay regulations. High wages are a thing of the past (Bowyer, Bullard & Leadbitter) all moving on. PJ and the club has bravely taken the long term view of moving towards youth player development. Our permanent transfers recently have indicated this (JET, Cressie, Hewitt, Loach). This takes time to bear fruit, in the mean time loans bolster the squad with experience.

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algarvefan added 09:45 - Oct 5 Jewell is panicking ....last throw of the dice...good luck!
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