Town are understood to be close to signing Rotherham United striker Danny Ward. Speaking on Thursday, boss Mick McCarthy, who is also looking to land Fulham frontman Cauley Woodrow, said he was hopeful of adding to his squad early in the transfer window.

The 26-year-old, who scored twice for the Millers in the 2-2 draw with the Blues at Portman Road in October, is out of contract in the summer and bottom-of-the-table Rotherham, who look odds-on to drop into League One, are believed to be willing to accept a fee of around £500,000 for the striker, who would otherwise leave on a free transfer in the summer.

Ward was a schoolboy with hometown club Bradford before joining the Leeds youth set-up and then moving on to Bolton. While with the Trotters he made two senior sub appearances and spent time on loan with Swindon, Coventry and Huddersfield.

He made his move to the Terriers a permanent one in the summer of 2011 for a fee believed to be in the region of £1 million.

Ward was previously targeted by the Blues in 2014 during his time with Huddersfield but he signed a new contract before eventually joining the Millers in January 2015 initially on loan before a fee was agreed and he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Ward, who is naturally left-sided and 5ft 11in tall, has scored nine goals for Rotherham this season.

Speaking after the game at Portman Road, Ward confirmed the 2014 interest from Town: “It was a while ago that McCarthy and the gaffer [then-Millers boss Kenny Jackett] tried to sign me while he was at Wolves and I was at Huddersfield,” he recalled.

“Neither materialised for one reason or another. Nothing got agreed with Ipswich or Wolves.”

As previously reported, the Blues are also believed to be closing in on the signing of 22-year-old Fulham striker Woodrow, who is currently out of favour at Craven Cottage and is understood to be available on loan.

Meanwhile, the Blues and Aldershot are in talks regarding extending midfielder Kundai Benyu’s loan with the Vanarama National League side.

The 19-year-old joined the Shots early in December and has made one start and one sub appearance.

Photo: TWTD

cleggo added 14:50 - Dec 31 Decent signing
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LWNR2013 added 14:51 - Dec 31 Grant's brother?
0

irishtim added 14:52 - Dec 31 Would like him at portman road. Happy New Year To You All.
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Pilgrimblue added 14:54 - Dec 31 Thats more like it, a signing and not a loan. Could do well with Pitman.
14

BotesdaleBlue added 14:55 - Dec 31 Regarding Ward, this will give a boost to supporters if it happens and don't we need one, even after last nights valuable 3 points. Good age, good goal scoring record. Just the type of player we need to bolster our attack.
18

RegencyBlue added 14:55 - Dec 31 Nine goals this season for a struggling side is not a bad haul. We've been linked with much worse in our time!
21

tractorboybig added 14:57 - Dec 31 wow,,,,, turned us down last time, well what an addition.
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martin587 added 14:59 - Dec 31 At last,something to get excited about.Just hope it's true and we manage to sign Him.Dont want any more loans.!
5

Mark added 15:02 - Dec 31 Yes please to Ward! Signing a goalscoring 23-year-old for £500K is just the sort of business we should be doing, especially with those goals coming at Championship level. Hopefully he will bang them in for Ipswich and could become worth millions, just the sort of signing we should be making. My only slight reservation is at 5'11" he might not be the target man we need, but can't have everything. As for Woodrow, what is the point in spending our scare resources on a loan fee and player wages? That is spending, not investment. Surely if Ward joins Pitman, McGoldrick and Sears (I'm guessing Best and Varney will go) then we can't afford to spend funds on a fifth striker? Spend money on permanent young players, not loans.

8

roytheboy added 15:03 - Dec 31 Bring it on.
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TractorBeezer added 15:04 - Dec 31 Sounds promising. Happy new year as we climb the table!
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Mick_Mills_Tache added 15:12 - Dec 31 Had a feeling that we'd make a move for him after our draw with them. 9 goals for a really poor and struggling team that look like certain relegation fodder isn't bad going. It's more than any of our players have scored anyway! As for the Fulham player, I really do hope that this is paper talk. He is woeful and a complete waste of time and money...be another Bajner signing.

13

Kentish_Tractor added 15:13 - Dec 31 Potential Lineup: Bart Emmanuel Webster Berra/Smith Kenlock Skuse G. Ward Lawrence McGoldrick Pitman D. Ward With Dozzell to play 30 mins, sears as an option for Pitman, Teddy as a sub, things could be looking bright. Just need Mick to have the balls to just do it!
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Suffolk_n_Good added 15:13 - Dec 31 Happy with this, let Varney & Best go, don't think we need Woodrow, money could be better spent on a creative midfielder and/or a decent right back.
13

Edinburgh_Blue added 15:13 - Dec 31 Best - exit door left. Sounds promising.
7

Jimmy86 added 15:16 - Dec 31 After a turbulent time of late I think this would be a promising signing and a modest fee involved too. Happy new year to you all. COYB!!!
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corfu72 added 15:34 - Dec 31 Lets just hope this news is correct.Looked a good striker when he played here and scored two goals.Gave our defenders the run around.500K if true is a very good price. Please don't bother to bring in Loan players,it's just a waste of money.Would make sense to off load Best and Varney if true as they are only bit part players. Something to look forward to.
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Dissboyitfc added 15:37 - Dec 31 a 26 year old with a goal scoring record of 1 in 6 games an ok signing and not a loan so better than woodrow who also has a 1-6 scoring ratio.
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Pencilpete added 15:38 - Dec 31 Don't get too excited everyone - He'll probably sit on the bench next to our other promising players watching 'different class Dougie' do his business. Either that or we'll play him as a defensive midfielder !!
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planetblue_2011 added 15:41 - Dec 31 Yes like the sound of this one. He's one of the best strikers I've seen down Portman rd this season. He gave our cb's a torrid time & scored twice. Good player sign him up!!
5

manualthetisfanclub added 15:55 - Dec 31 Agreed, could be decent, good start to window if true, don't stop now.but for my mind the midfield is the area that need a massive overhaul. You could have Ronaldo up top, but he would still have to create their own chances because currently our slow midfield generally create nowt!
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jas0999 added 16:00 - Dec 31 Decent player. Fee. 26 years old. Permanent deal. Ticks all the boxes as far as I'm concerned. I see little point of loans, this type if deal would be so much better. A player who could be with us for three or four season. Yes, would be good stuff.
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happybeingblue added 16:01 - Dec 31 decent player remember him catching the eye alongside charlie austin at Swindon a few years back, has technical ability and pace , be surprised if rotherham let him go though tbh
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Steelmonkey added 16:08 - Dec 31 Pleased to see that it looks like we are trying to add to our attacking options. But honestly isn't it a decent attacking midfielder we need. Strikers need feeding with chances, but also those strikers need to be able to create space for those passes to become an option, something which our current options seem unable to do. Town are a team who can be too easily closed down, and it's down to MM and TC to change that, I'm not sure they are capable of doing that job.

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GAlmond added 16:10 - Dec 31 Hmm not sure about this one happening. As much as it would be a good signing I think he may be out of reach for us. I am lead to believe he has an option for another year on his contract which Rotherham will take up, Huddersfield also have a 50% sell on.
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