Ipswich Town have signed Bristol City midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson on loan until the end of the season with the option to buy him permanently after that.
The 23-year-old - who stands at 6ft 3in tall - has made 30 starts and 17 sub appearances for the Robins in the Championship, including a seven-game run in the side as recently as October to December.
He is reunited with Blues CEO Mark Ashton in Suffolk, the latter having brought him to Ashton Gate from boyhood club Luton Town back in 2017.
"It’s a massive club which is going in the right direction, so I’m buzzing to be a part of it," said Bakinson, who will wear the number 12 shirt.
"Everyone at the club is very ambitious so it’s definitely something I’m very excited about.
"I’m a hard-working player who likes to get on the ball. I’m a box-to-box midfielder and hopefully I’ll get a goal or two. I want to play as many games as I can and help the team as much as possible."
Bakinson, who has had loan spells in League Two with Newport and Plymouth, becomes Town's second signing of the January transfer window after goalkeeper Christian Walton's loan deal was made permanent this week.
Blues boss Kieran McKenna said: "It was really important that we kept Christian Walton and Macauley Bonne at the club. Once we had done that, we knew that we would look at some areas in the squad to see where we may be able to strengthen or add depth.
"Tyreeq is a versatile midfielder who can play across the pitch and cover a number of positions. He offers us something different and is at an age where he has lots of years ahead to improve further.
"We really like Tyreeq as a player. He’s young, hungry, athletic and technical. He is fit and has played plenty of games already this season, so it won’t take him long to get up to speed.
"He needs to meet the group and settle, but it shouldn’t be long before we see him in action."
Town host Accrington Stanley on Saturday before travelling to AFC Wimbledon next Tuesday night.
Speaking earlier today, Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson said of the move: "He's a player who unfortunately just wants to play on his own terms. It's not something I particularly want so he can go. I don't want people that when the going gets tough, they want to go somewhere else, I'm not interested."
Louie Barry's loan spell from Aston Villa was cut short earlier this month, while Toto Nsiala was sold to Fleetwood and Myles Kenlock has joined Colchester on loan. Here's how Town's squad currently looks:
IPSWICH TOWN SQUAD
Walton, Hladky, Holy; Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Burgess; Burns, Vincent-Young; Morsy, Evans, Bakinson*, Fraser, Carroll, Harper, Nolan, El Mizouni, Penney, Edwards, Coulson*, Clements; Aluko, Celina*, Chaplin, Bonne*, Norwood, Pigott, Jackson.
* On loan
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