Town striker George Hirst has hailed Jens Cajuste as one of the best players he has ever played with following the Swede’s return to the club on loan from Napoli earlier this week.

Cajuste was widely regarded as one of Town’s best players during the Premier League season last term, narrowly missing out on the Supporters’ Player of the Year award to Liam Delap by just 36 votes.

The midfielder was registered in time but did not feature in the 1-1 opening night draw with Birmingham City on Friday, but Hirst agrees that Cajuste’s second spell in Suffolk is a big boost to the club.

“People ask me who’s the best player I’ve played with and he’s right up there,” Hirst said after scoring at St Andrew’s. “He’s incredible so to get him back is massive for us as a team and a club.

“Just as a guy he’s incredible, all the boys loved him to bits. I think all the boys were texting him trying to get him back as soon as possible.”

Cajuste will link up in midfield with former Reims teammate Azor Matusiwa, who made his Blues and English league debut in the Midlands after spending the previous four seasons in France.

Reflecting on the process of integrating new players, Hirst said: “Time and hard work on the training ground every day which all the boys put in. It may take a little bit of time, it may take a week, that’s just how the cookie crumbles.

“All the boys are working as hard as we possibly can trying to get back into the swing of things which I think we’ve been really good at in pre-season. We’ve showed that we’re getting a lot of new connections spot on.

“It was tough out there today, Azor’s first game in England, to come into a game like that is not easy and I thought he was brilliant. He put in tackles, headers and put himself about.

“I said to him after the game that not every game is going to be like that, there’s going to be games where he can get his foot on the ball and play a little bit more but welcome to England. I’m sure the boys will build on that.

“He’s a great football player, we’ve all seen it day in, day out since he came in. I’m sure there’ll be plenty more games going forward where everyone else will see it too.”

Last season in the Premier League and the season before when promoted from the Championship, Town had the tag of being major underdogs.

This campaign looks remarkably different. The Blues are the bookmakers favourites for the Championship title and are regarded as one of those to be shot at given the strength of the squad and the club being in receipt of parachute payments.

“It’s a privilege to have that pressure,” Hirst insisted. “It means you’re a pretty good side and you’re doing something well.

“It’s a pressure we’ve spoken about and a pressure we’ll embrace and it’s a pressure we’ll use to get better going forward.

“I’m going to be judged on my goals, first and foremost. Probably not so much by the gaffer, I think the gaffer has always been clear and I’ve been clear that being Ipswich’s number nine isn’t just the goals, there’s a hell of a lot more that comes with it.

“As long as I can keep improving every single part of my game then I think we’ll be in a good position.”

Next up, Town face a televised trip to League Two side Bromley on Tuesday night in the opening round of this season’s Carabao Cup.

The Sky Sports cameras are then back in town next Sunday as the Blues make their Portman Road return against fellow relegated side Southampton, a clash Hirst is particularly excited for.

The Scotland international said: “Can’t wait. It’s a place that everyone loves playing with the fans. We experienced it last season where it was a full house every single time we played there.

“For me personally, there’s nowhere better to play. We’ll be back in training this week, we’ve obviously got Bromley on Tuesday night so that’s our main focus. That’s not a game we can take lightly because they can go and cause an upset and that’s not what we want.

“That’s our focus first and foremost, come Wednesday morning I’m sure all focus will be on Southampton.”

Photo: ITFC

Barty added 10:58 - Aug 10 Massive boost to have Jens back. Fantastic player.
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Broadbent23 added 11:07 - Aug 10 Too many supporters have assumed we would hit the championship all guns blazing. As with any team we have lost players, brought new players and still have a few question marks over a few players. Therefore the chemistry is not quite right. When Jens has been blended back into the team the performances will pick up. Ashley will also be a huge benefit. Fridays game lived up to the battle of two teams on different journeys. So if the supporters give the team the same great support from previous seasons the current team will evolve into a winning unit. Yesterday's other championship games prove we have no one to fear.

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Gforce added 11:14 - Aug 10 There is no doubt Jens will be outstanding at championship level and a good chance of being POTY ,no Delap for competition this time. On another note,what is happening with the so called points deduction for Leicester ? No doubt they'll find another loophole to get away with it.
2

Bazza8564 added 11:31 - Aug 10 Broadbent, well said! Jens is key but it won't stop there, theres a lot to look forward to this season
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Widj123 added 11:40 - Aug 10 Absolute rubbish he couldn’t play 90 minutes once can’t tackle another useless signing and as for things to look forward did any one watch Friday night I was there Ipswich were awful 1 shot on target and that was a penalty and as for players having time to adjust Birmingham had lots of new players and they completely outplayed us watched Wrexham and Southampton yesterday both were in different class to Ipswich all with new players Div 1 here we come Ashton McKenna OUT

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hello66 added 11:43 - Aug 10 To ABBA music… “ Give me give me a man in a tractor …… his name is Jens..ss …. And his going to score !!! “ I truly believe this guy will go on to be a legend build the team around him. In my opinion. He was the best player last year.! Blue army see you all next Sunday!!!
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 11:44 - Aug 10 Broadbent: Agree with most of what you said, but not that we have no-one to fear. Having watched the Championship highlights, there are a lot of good teams out there. Much of the football I saw there was of a better standard than in our match, although those teams weren't playing Brum. OK, "fear" is maybe not the right word, but we must probably be ready to accept that any victory is going to be hard won.

5

Marinersnose added 12:10 - Aug 10 Cajuste will be a big positive at Championship level but he is injury prone and hasn’t played pre season. Good to have some continuity in midfield with a relationship between Cajuste and Azor already honed. McKenna will I’m sure add further competition to the midfield hopefully some pace and a decent striker to rival Hirst who again is injury prone. Much work to do and having seen the Saints we will have a much tougher game next weekend. We will need to be much better in order to get anything from the game even with a vociferous PR

0

darkhorse28 added 12:12 - Aug 10 He’s a lovely footballer, a pleasure to watch, I thought against Man Utd at home, after Bruno he was the best player on the pitch. This league hits different though. You need to graft, to scrap, to do the nasty stuff REALLY well to earn the right to play. For every Jens and Jack Clarke and Philogene, you need a Sam Morsy, an O Shea, a Leif, and a George Hirst who will run their legs to stumps. Sam isn’t here. And I’ll be honest, we don’t have nearly enough of the nasty pasty players - the legacy league one side were tough as boots…, they’d beat this side, with much less quality and at 10% the cost, they’d do anything to win. Team dynamic is everything in this league .., and the quality of the championship doesn’t look nearly as good as in the past, so if we can add that with one or two really nasty players .., then the quality will shine through. We need a Geraint ‘the tank’ Williams as a profile, and we need it really badly. If we get that.., Clarke, Philogene, Jens, Sammie, Johnson (needs to sort his attitude out) .., can start to play. We had 30% possession against Brum before they scored.., we only had the ball when they decided to sit. The ‘tank’ would have kicked shins, taken names, and given us possession and a platform. We massively lack that .., and it’s not Jens’ game either. We need a really good CDM still. We need a ball tools with before we show our quality.

2

bgexile added 12:22 - Aug 10 Hey Widj, bad day for you yesterday
4

backwaywhen added 12:41 - Aug 10 Widj123 Second word is OFF !
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Mark added 12:47 - Aug 10 That's brilliant to read. I didn't think Cajuste would drop to the Championship, so to get him back, and for such a good price, is a huge boost. I agree that we need a new midfielder to compete / share the load with Matusiwa, having lost Morsy, Phillips and Luongo. I am sure we will sign such a player before the window closes.
1

ArnieM added 13:06 - Aug 10 Widgi is scummer, Widgi is a scummer, La, la, la .... Your lot, midtable , at best. Notice how Brisyol City played yesterday without agent Manning at the helm? Lol
2

FreddySteady added 13:39 - Aug 10 Am I the only one who thinks it was about time for Sam to go.? Never the most mobile, he was found out , along with most others, at Premier League level and is coming to the end of his career. Maybe he could have sat in front of the defence. I don’t blame him for taking a payday though.
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Cookieboy added 14:13 - Aug 10 There has been a lot said on this subject, some I agree with and some I don't. But I would disagree with George H regarding blending players into the team. We only had one newcomer against Birmingham so I can't take that as an excuse for a woeful performance
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FreddySteady added 14:43 - Aug 10 Agree Cookieboy, we looked like strangers.
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Widj123 added 15:15 - Aug 10 McKenna out McKenna OUT
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Edmundo added 16:37 - Aug 10 Oh Widj, either Foxtrot back to Norwich or stop posting these "LOOK AT ME, I'M A TROLL" posts.
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