Town defender Jacob Greaves says the uncertainty of the transfer window is part and parcel of the game, insisting he is only focused on what he can control.

Six players have arrived at Portman Road so far this summer while Liam Delap, Sam Morsy, Axel Tuanzebe and Cameron Burgess are among the names who have left the club during the off-season.

Nathan Broadhead departed the Blues for Wrexham earlier this week while speculation surrounding Omari Hutchinson looks set to come to an end with the forward expected to sign for Nottingham Forest.

Greaves believes the squad is in a healthy position for a promotion push, but admitted it can be exciting when new teammates enter the building.

“The gaffer and Mark [Ashton, chairman] will obviously want to strengthen the squad in some way,” he said. “People come in and people go, it’s just a part of the job.

“It will be nice to meet new people if new people come in. If new people don’t come in, I still think we’ve got a good enough squad to compete.

“It’s a great dressing room to come in and fit into. I feel that people can come in and immediately feel at home and at ease which is nice and we’ll do our best to do that like they did with me. It’s just part of the job and we’ve got to crack on with it.

“It’s a new season, a little bit of a fresh start. Some new faces as well and some faces have gone but we’re used to that as footballers, it’s part of the job. You lose mates but then you gain ones as well.

“It’s been really nice, the feel-good factor is there around the changing room as well. We’re really excited to get our first game at Portman Road.”

On England U21 international Hutchinson, who withdrew from Town’s squad at Bromley on Tuesday amid the interest, Greaves said: “I think it’s a little bit above my head in terms of the people above me will be having them discussions, I’m not too sure what’s going on.

“I see Omari every day and he’s the same person, training well and taking care of himself in that way. I’m not too sure about the outside noise, as a group we’ve got to quieten that out and focus on what we do on the training pitch with the lads that we have.

“Omari’s been training well so I think that’s a little bit above my head. Obviously I hope that he can stay.

“I just concentrate on what I have to concentrate on and control what I can. That’s a discussion he’s obviously had with the manager, nothing to do with me.

“When I get on the pitch, I’ve got to focus on what I can do with the players that are playing at that current time. It’s nothing too dramatic for me, I’m not fussed about it one bit and I don’t think any of the lads are.

“It’s the outside noise that can worry about that, we’ve got to focus on what we can control and that’s performing on the pitch with the players that are on there.

“[The transfer window] can stay open for however long you want, you’ve got to focus on what we have. In that kind of way when the window closes we have a group that we can focus on.

“Sometimes with players not knowing what their future holds, it can cause a few setbacks in terms of players not wanting to be here or whatever, you just want the players that are focused on being here and helping the lads climb the table. In that sense, it will be nice to shut the window and focus on the group that we have.”

On the incoming front, Town have recently secured the services of former loanee Jens Cajuste from Napoli for another season, with the Blues having an obligation to buy the Sweden international should they be promoted.

“It basically felt like I’d seen him every morning,” Greaves said. “I don’t think he got rid of his flat in Ipswich so he was straight back in, he still had the keys.

“He’s an unbelievable player, Jens. Such a luxury player, a Rolls-Royce, can kind of do it all. You know what he brought to the Premier League last season, so to have him back this season is fair play to him and fair play to the people above me for bringing him back in.

“That’s a credit to us guys and the fans as well for welcoming him and the stadium that he got to play in last season if we can replicate that again. To have him back is fantastic.”

Also arriving in the last week was Chuba Akpom, the striker agreeing similar terms of a loan-to-buy deal from Dutch giants Ajax.

Having been top scorer in the Championship for Middlesbrough three seasons ago, Greaves knows all about Akpom’s strengths and what he could bring to the Blues’ forward line.

The former Hull City defender said: “I remember him definitely scoring one of their goals at the Riverside, it was an unbelievable finish. It was nice to see him, you saw the quality that he offered even in the first training session.

"Playing against him, he won the Golden Boot in the Championship so we’ve got two Golden Boot winners now [Sammie Szmodics won it in 2023/24 with Blackburn] so there’s no excuse for not scoring goals in this league.

“An unbelievable talent and we’ve got him now for what is coming into the peak of his career. Hopefully he can carry that form on from what he had at Middlesbrough with us and he can kick on.”

On Broadhead’s departure, Greaves added: “It was disappointing. He’s a different character I’d say, but one that I really enjoyed. I thought he was a phenomenal footballer as well.

“I really enjoyed playing with him on the left-hand side, he found a lot of clever positions in terms of drifting inside into pockets where I could find him.

“He’s back where he’s from in Wales so it’s a move that maybe suited both parties a little bit but not happy to see him go because he’s a really good player and I’m sure he would have helped us. The club have decided on an agreement so it is what it is.”

TWTD

LimerickTractorBoy added 06:16 - Aug 16 Onwards and Upwards Ipswich. Hopefully a great season ahead and please God we can look back at the comments after the Bromley match report and say 'what was that all about' I remember looking forward to the new edition of the TWTD fanzine when living in Norwich!!!! in the early nineties, young and innocent... this TWTD site has a high level of toxicity, near ir far we all support the Town, we all love the Town.

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AYACCA added 06:35 - Aug 16 Like a true Stoic.
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cartman1972 added 07:36 - Aug 16 Let's be fair these type of interviews always get the same responses. New player is great blah blah blah .....leaving players were great blah blah blah ......we ignore the stuff going on blah blah blah .
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BeachBlue added 07:50 - Aug 16 I understand people will say he's following orders from management to be careful what he says, but I'm okay with it. It's about being a good professional and protecting the clubs image and not adding to, or encouraging more controversy and unwanted gossip. It's nothing more than I've had to do in my career when I've been asked what's going on where I've worked. I've always done the same, concentrate on what I can change and let the upper management do their job. Jacob Greaves is an excellent professional for ITFC

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