Ipswich Town midfielder Idris El Mizouni has joined relegation-fighting League Two side Grimsby Town on loan for the rest of the season.

As first reported by the EADT and Ipswich Star earlier, the 20-year-old has been reunited with former Blues boss Paul Hurst and his assistant Chris Doig.

The French-born, Tunisia international spent the first half of this season on loan at table-topping League Two side Cambridge United but struggled for game time.

He said: "I knew the gaffer from Ipswich. I know the way he wants to play and I really like that, I think that way suits me and I want to help him and the team stay in the league.

"I really like Paul and Chris' style of play. I know they like to try and play out from the back. I loved the fact that they were watching the youngsters in training when they were at Ipswich. Every session they wanted to try and put the youngsters into the training sessions and I think that is really good for players like myself for example. When I was there I remember Doigy and the gaffer were watching the Under-18s train, which was good.

"I'm 20 now and I need first-team football. I was at Cambridge last year and I was playing, which was decent, and then I came back. I have played games there, I know how the league is and I believe that I can help the team. I think I am a more technical centre midfielder, I can play box to box or as a number 10, so I like to carry the ball and make things happen."

Hurst said: "He's a young player that in my short time over there impressed us and we wanted to bring into the first-team environment.

"He has lots of energy, a great enthusiasm and he has a little bit of everything really for a midfielder that you could wish for. He's a good runner with the ball, a good size and he's competitive.

"He has had two loans at Cambridge, one that went obviously better than the other, albeit they're doing incredibly well this season, so perhaps it's understandable that he hasn't got as much game time as he would like. He knows the league, there will be no nasty surprises there for him, and he is a player that I know can add some quality to the group and the squad.

"I think the fact that he knows me and Chris was comforting for him in regards to going out on loan. When you're a young player and you go out on loan, you have got to earn the right to be in a team, but I think you can have a thought in your mind on how you expect things to go. If they don't quite go that way, it can make the next move more difficult to buy into potentially but I think having that past experience with us, he saw we valued him and brought him into the first-team environment for the first time and hopefully that holds some value with him personally and helped the deal get done.

"On Ipswich's side, they were more than happy to send him and I would like to thank them for their cooperation in this."

Grimsby host fellow strugglers Stevenage tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile, it's understood that the Blues have also made young fringe players Armando Dobra and Brett McGavin available for loan before Monday's 11pm transfer deadline.

Blues boss Paul Lambert is keen to add a striker to his squad, with it understood that Nottingham Forest youngster Will Swan is among the players being considered.