Paul Jewell is set to make Blackburn Rovers defender Pascal Chimbonda his first signing as Ipswich Town manager, according to various reports.
Chimbonda is widely expected to leave Blackburn this month having fallen out of favour at Ewood Park, with Rovers manager Steve Kean and his predecessor Sam Allardyce thought to have told the player that he has no future at the club. The 31-year-old has since been heavily linked with a move to QPR, but reports suggest that he will snub the Championship leaders in favour of linking up with Jewell at Ipswich. The new Town boss first introduced Chimbonda to English football having signed him for Wigan Athletic following the Latics’ promotion in 2005.
Having excelled in his year at Wigan, Chimbonda subsequently had two spells at Tottenham Hotspur either side of a year at Sunderland before making his move to Blackburn in 2009. Reports claim that the Guadeloupe-born defender, who was once capped at international level by France, is now valued at around £500,000 – the same fee Jewell paid for him at Wigan.
Chimbonda would undoubtedly bring not just experience but flexibility to the Ipswich defence, where he would be capable of playing anywhere along the backline. Town are known to be very eager to add a right-back following the return of Gianni Zuiverloon to West Bromwich Albion in December. Whether or not he could rediscover his best form once reunited with Jewell would remain to be seen, but with the Blues’ backline still leaking too many goals, they could certainly use another experienced head.
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