IPSWICH TOWN: Kieron Dyer can see Connor Wickham breaking his Blues transfer record.

And the West Ham midfielder is tipping Luke Hyam to become a hit with Blues fans.

The 31-year-old midfielder, who was back at Portman Road playing for the Hammers on Saturday, cost Newcastle United �6.5million when he left Ipswich in the summer of 1999.

Still based in Ipswich, Dyer keeps abreast of all things Ipswich Town, and he said: “Connor has the makings of being a great player and all he has done so far points to that.

“The way he is going he will break my transfer record although I’m sure Ipswich will do all they can to keep him if they can.”

And turning his attention to up-and-coming local boy Hyam, Dyer went on: “He’s a confident lad and he was not overawed.

“He was pushing and shoving Scott Parker and Mark Noble about and I’m sure Ipswich will be hoping he can keep up this form.”

Dyer, who joined Town straight from school like Wickham and Hyam, is predicting a good season ahead for the Blues.

“I can see them having a decent campaign,” he said.

“They had more chances than us on Saturday, although they are ahead of us in training time and it was expected that we would be a bit below par.

“We put in a hard shift last week, and there was no explosive pace left by the end of the 90 minutes.

“Ipswich gave us a good test, and it is always nice to come back.”

And talking about his own fitness after failing to complete 90 minutes for West Ham in four years, he added:

“It’s a long time since I played for an hour and there was petrol left in the tank.

“I made my Ipswich debut at right back as a substitute for Gus Uhlenbeek and it was the fifth position I’ve played this pre-season.

“There are new medical people at Upton Park this year and fingers crossed I’ll be able to put my injury worries behind me.”