Ipswich Town have signed exciting young right-back Dominic Iorfa on a season-long loan from Wolves, but their striker search goes on after Reading hijacked a move for Jon Dadi Bodvarsson.

It’s understood the Blues had an agreement in principle with Wolves to take Icelandic international forward Bodvarsson on loan with view to a permanent move, but were waiting for Brett Pitman’s switch to League One side Portsmouth to be completed before proceeding.

That left the door ajar for the Royals – who were beaten in the Play-Off Final last year – to ambush the deal late on Thursday night.

Pitman’s switch to Pompey was confirmed yesterday morning, with the 29-year-old signing a three-year deal at Fratton Park.

Ipswich’s forward options have now been reduced to just three senior players in the form of summer signing Joe Garner, David McGoldrick and Freddie Sears.

Since Daryl Murphy was sold to Newcastle for £3m last August, the Blues have struggled to land their main striker targets with attempts to get Conor Washington (QPR), Marley Watkins (Barnsley), Jordan Hugill (Preston) and Danny Ward (Rotherham) all failing.

Watkins has joined Norwich this summer, Ward has moved to Cardiff, while Sunderland now look favourites for Hugill’s signature following manager Simon Grayson’s switch to the Stadium of Light.

Another big piece of the jigsaw has fallen into place with the addition of Iorfa though. The tall and athletic 22-year-old has made 83 starts in the Championship for Wolves over the past three seasons and was part of the England Under-21 squad which recently reached the semi-finals of the European Championships.

Wolves still see him as a star in the making, but have let him go temporarily following a summer spending spree by new Portuguese boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

Iorfa will compete with Jordan Spence for the right-back slot following Josh Emmanuel’s loan switch to Rotherham. He will also provide cover at centre-back for Luke Chambers, Adam Webster and Tommy Smith.

McCarthy said: “I’m thrilled to have got Dominic. He is an England U21 international who has played close on 100 league games. He is very athletic, has got great pace and is equally as good at centre-half or right-back.”