Ipswich Town set to seal £3.9m transfer | OneFootball

The Ivorian defender is set to stay at Portman Road in the long-term

Ipswich Town will hope to have restored momentum in their aims of an immediate return to the Premier League as they defeated Watford 2-0 at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night.

After a manic and frustrating 5-3 defeat to play-off rivals, Wrexham, at the Stok Cae Ras on Saturday afternoon, Kieran McKenna's side delivered a professional performance to hand Edward Still his first defeat in charge of the Hornets since taking over from Javi Gracia earlier in the month.

With Millwall still to host Birmingham City at The Den on Wednesday night, a 16th win from 32 games played saw the Tractor Boys move up to third place in the Championship on 57 points, level with Hull City, and they are now just six points behind Middlesbrough as the North East side endured a third successive match without victory.

Much has been made of the strength-in-depth at McKenna's disposal at Portman Road following Town's immediate relegation from the top-flight last term, in what was their only campaign in the division since 2002 after previously earning the remarkable feat of back-to-back promotions from League One to the elite level of English football under the Northern Irishman.

As such, expectation levels surrounding the Suffolk club have skyrocketed in the past six months of the gruelling Championship campaign, with many tipping the Blues to win the league outright before a ball was kicked.

Whilst promotion in the aforementioned form may not be the route which Ipswich take if they are to achieve what they set out at the beginning of the season, it would certainly unlock the chances of attracting an even stronger calibre of player to what is already a stacked squad throughout several departments.

And, despite the winter transfer window only closing less than four weeks ago, it appears as though Town are set to complete a deal for one of their most consistent performers.

After their relegation, McKenna was tasked with somewhat reshuffling his pack in this part of East Anglia to ensure Town had the strongest possible chance of reclaiming their Premier League status at the first time of asking.

It has been well-documented that in the summer, Ipswich smashed the Championship's all-time transfer record for an incoming when they invested £17.5m into the services of Norwegian forward, Sindre Walle Egeli.

However, one of the more shrewd dealings which McKenna was able to complete was the loan signing of Cedric Kipre from French Ligue 2 side, Stade de Reims.

The Ivorian has vast recent experience in the Championship, having previously featured for Wigan Athletic and West Bromwich Albion, and he has certainly put his attributes to good use across 26 appearances in all competitions thus far.

The 29-year-old's defensive nous has been pivotal for Town, as well as his aerial threat, which has seen him notch three goals to-date, with one of those coming in the East Anglian derby vs Norwich City.

It has now been reported by Africa Foot that Ipswich plan to make Kipre's loan move permanent for the sum of €4.5m (£3.9m) in an option-to-buy clause, with discussions well underway between the two clubs.

Fresh Cedric Kipre, Ipswich Town update is intriguing amid Premier League ambitions

Kipre, of course, has been important to Town's recent upsurge in form. However, it remains to be seen whether he would continue to play a major role in proceedings in the Premier League.

As such, Football League World's Ipswich Town fan pundit, Adam Wilkin, recently claimed that the one-time international's physical nature is better suited to the Championship, whilst Jacob Greaves has been backed to continue his progress significantly if Town were to be promoted again.

However, the importance of a 25-man squad in the modern game has been highlighted several times, meaning a low-cost deal for a player with lengthy experience isn't the biggest risk which Ipswich could take.