Ipswich Town have completed the signing of winger Mustapha Carayol on a short-term deal until the end of the season.
The 29-year-old had his contract terminated at Nottingham Forest by mutual consent earlier today and Mick McCarthy has wasted no time in securing his services. He will be hoping that he can get the best out of him at Portman Road between now and the end of the season.
Carayol is not the only Deadline Day arrival at Ipswich. 19-year-old Limerick defender Barry Cotter has also arrived at Portman Road for an undisclosed fee.
A player short of confidence
There is no doubt that Carayol is a player with vast experience at Championship level having played for Middlesbrough, Brighton & Hove Albion, Huddersfield Town, Leeds United and most recently Forest so far in his career. However, he is a player who will without doubt be low on confidence following a difficult couple of years at The City Ground.
Carayol joined Forest on a two-year deal in August 2016 but he struggled to make an impact, scoring just three league goals during his time at the club. His highlight came towards the end of last season as he made a significant contribution to Forest avoiding relegation into League One with some outstanding performances.
However, he struggled to carry that form into the start of this season and fell out of favour under previous manager Mark Warburton. Aitor Karanka did give Carayol a chance to impress in the recent FA Cup tie with Hull City but he was subsequently substituted at half-time following a poor display.
McCarthy must believe that he can get the best out of the winger and that he can get him performing as he did for Forest towards the end of last season, on a more regular basis. Carayol will be keen to impress himself as he could potentially find himself without a club again in the summer if he does not.
It was an "easy decision"
Carayol has revealed that McCarthy was interested in securing his services before he opted to move to Forest and this was a key factor in him joining Ipswich this time round.
He told the club's official site: "The gaffer showed interest in me before I signed for Forest so as soon as I knew Ipswich were keen on me it was an easy decision."
He added: "I know a lot about Ipswich. I have played against the team a few times and know a lot of the players here. I saw Cole Skuse in Dubai a couple of years ago and he was trying to convince me to sign."
The winger described his time at Forest as "the most frustrating time" of his career and this has made him even more determined to make an impression at Ipswich.
He could potentially make his debut for the club on Saturday afternoon as Ipswich travel to the Stadium of Light to take on struggling Sunderland.