Ipswich Town have completed the signing of veteran defender Richard Keogh from Blackpool on a one-year contract.
Blackpool are said to have rebuffed two offers from the Tractor Boys before accepting what is believed to be a nominal fee for the defender who turns 36 on Thursday.
Keogh was entering the final year of his contract at Bloomfield Road.
The Irishman is expected to come in and provide additional cover to what appears to be an already settled backline.
So, why have Ipswich signed Richard Keogh?
State of play
Ipswich have made a positive start to manager Kieran McKenna's first full season in charge, earning four points from their opening two league matches.
A home draw with fellow promotion hopefuls Bolton Wanderers on the opening day was followed by a 2-1 away victory at newly-promoted Forest Green Rovers last Saturday.
Town were, however, knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday following a 1-0 home defeat to local League Two side Colchester United.
Despite the signing of Keogh, the Blues look set to continue with a back three of Janoi Donacien, George Edmundson and Luke Woolfenden.
Woolfenden missed the trip to Forest Green through illness and was replaced by Cameron Burgess, who is likely to be Keogh's competition for fourth choice behind the aforementioned trio.
Keogh becomes Ipswich's seventh signing of the summer, following Freddie Ladapo, Dominic Ball, Greg Leigh, Tyreece John-Jules, Marcus Harness and Leif Davis.
Keogh's career
Born in Harlow, Essex, Keogh began his football career as a schoolboy in Ipswich's academy and was a ballboy at Portman Road before moving on to Stoke City.
Despite being named Stoke's Young Player of the Year for 2002/03, Keogh never made a first team appearance for the Potters after a loan spell to Víkingur Reykjavik in Iceland.
Keogh joined Bristol City in 2005 where he made his Football League debut but was soon loaned out to Wycombe Wanderers, before further loans at Huddersfield Town, Carlisle United and Cheltenham Town. He joined the Cumbrians permanently in 2008.
After two seasons in League One with Carlisle, Keogh made the step up to the Championship to join Coventry City. In his second season, he was named the club's Player of the Year before leaving to join Derby County for a fee in excess of £1m.
And it was with the Rams where Keogh really made his name.
Immediately coming in as club captain, Keogh spent seven years at Pride Park that included three Championship play-off campaigns and was named Player of the Year on two occasions.
It was during his tenure at Derby that Keogh made his debut for the Republic of Ireland in June 2013. He would go on to earn 26 international caps, scoring once.
In total, Keogh played 326 matches for Derby before picking up a long-term injury as a result of an incident involving teammates Mason Bennett and Tom Lawrence.
Derby subsequently terminated Keogh's contract in October 2019.
Keogh returned to action in 2020 by signing for League One side Milton Keynes Dons before a Championship return to Huddersfield and then Blackpool followed.
Keogh played 31 matches for the Tangerines last season as Keogh begins his 19th season in professional football at Ipswich.
The here and now
On first viewing, the signing of Richard Keogh may seem an odd one, especially given that centre-back is not a position Ipswich have any issues in, or were known to be actively looking to recruit in the transfer window.
However, it may be a very clever piece of business.
Keogh, despite representing the Republic of Ireland, is from nearby Essex and was in the Ipswich academy as a schoolboy. He is reported to be wanting to be nearer his family as he enters what is inevitably the final years of his football career.
You won't need a geography degree to know that Blackpool is not local to Essex.
Keogh, reflecting on his academy days at Town, said: "It's an amazing feeling to be back at the club.
"I can't wait to get out at Portman Road and represent Ipswich out on the pitch."
Young defenders such as Woolfenden and Corrie Ndaba will no doubt learn so much from such an experienced head in the Ipswich Town dressing room. A reminder that Keogh has 457 Championship appearances to his name.
But it is Ndaba who could be the crucial element in this.
The 22-year-old has already had four loan spells away from Town and it feels now is the time that he is ready for League One football.
The difficulty is that it is unlikely he will displace any of the current options Ipswich have at their disposal. Sitting on the bench is not going to do him any good.
The Blues do see a future in him, he has just signed a long-term contract at the club. But maybe Keogh's addition might provide the cover needed for Ndaba to get more senior minutes out on loan.
Upon signing, Keogh himself expressed the importance of his presence in the dressing room in addition to just the performances on the pitch.
He said: "Even if I'm not on the pitch, the role for me is to help develop the great young centre-backs that are here.
"In this stage of my career, this is a perfect fit for me to perform on the pitch but also give back to the group and help in any way I can."
Keogh comes into Ipswich on a purely playing basis with no expectation to move onto coaching at this stage.
But, despite being in the final years of his career, the Irishman is still held in high regard. Just a quick look at social media will tell you that Blackpool fans are sad to see him depart the Championship side.
He was clearly a popular character in Lancashire.
How much of an influence he has at Ipswich, both on and off the field, remains to be seen.