Ipswich Town players have been blown away by the ability of Jonny Williams – and now they’re just hoping he will be allowed to stay beyond the weekend.

The Welsh international has helped ignite the Blues’ charge for the play-off places in the last few days, playing a starring role in wins over Brighton and Derby.

His one-month loan from Crystal Palace expires after Saturday’s home game against Nottingham Forest though and Eagles boss Tony Pulis – who was at Portman Road to witness Williams’ fine goal and performance on Tuesday night – has refused to comment on reports that the tricky midfielder will be recalled to help his side battle Premier League relegation.

“He’s a great player,” enthused Town winger Paul Anderson, who started his career at Liverpool. “I was actually saying the other day, a bit tongue-in-cheek, that he’s the best I’ve played with.

“He’s such a nice lad as well. He’s so grounded for a young lad who’s got a great future ahead of him. It’s great for us to be able to capture someone like that and hopefully we can keep him here as long as possible.”

He continued: “He’s definitely a Premier League player. I’ve heard feedback from Welsh internationals that he’s one of the best they’ve seen and they’ve seen Gareth Bale turn into the most expensive player in the world. You never know who can go on to reach that sort of level.

“He’s a great player and a great asset to the squad, but if he goes back (to Palace) we’ll all wish him well. Behind him we’ve still got very strong players. I don’t think we can rest everything on Jonny Williams.

“It would be lovely for him to stay. I think everyone – staff, players, fans – would love him to still be here, but if he’s got to go back then I hope it goes well for him.”

Blues keeper Dean Gerken said: “You can see the boy’s special. He’s been raved about for the last couple of years at Palace, for whatever reason he hasn’t got his chance there this season but that’s been a bonus for us.

“You see it in training. You can see the quality of him and the speed he has. He sees things on the pitch and can do things that others can’t.

“He’s brings that little bit of brilliance that David McGoldrick was giving us before his injury.”