After missing out on the playoffs by five points, Mick McCarthy was aiming to go one better ahead of the 2016/17 season.

Ipswich Town had exceeded all expectations the year prior as they pushed the whole season to be in the post-season lottery but to no avail.

It was a tight battle, and in the summer of 2016, McCarthy looked to improve his side ahead of another challenge for a top six place.

And to do that the Town boss enlisted the services of Tom Lawrence from Leicester City on a season-long loan on August 30, 2016.

The temporary move caught a lot of Ipswich fans off guard with them responding to the signing in underwhelming fashion.

He made his debut for the Championship side in the 1-0 win over Derby County on September 13, 2016, and despite a slow start for the attacker, would soon become a valuable player.

It took Lawrence until the tenth attempt to get his first goal, and it would be in the win over the team who pipped them to the playoffs the year before, Sheffield Wednesday.

Having been at Manchester United, after a couple of ineffective loan spells and one senior appearance for the Old Trafford side, he was sold to Leicester, where he played thrice before of a quartet of loans, the fourth being to Portman Road - and that was by far his most prolific.

In a campaign that saw the Tractor Boys fail to mount a sustained promotion challenge, they finished 16th in the table with Lawrence as their top scorer.

He scored nine goals in the league and 11 in total during the 2016/17 season and resisted an impressive nine assists, too.

A standout player that year and an individual that more than proved himself after the welcome from some fans he got regarding their knowledge of him.

It was by far and away his best season at a club, and he single-handedly led the charge for a beleaguered Ipswich side.

Lawrence had an impressive league record, that when he scored, Ipswich lost just once - drawing three and winning three, too.

Without him, they would have had eight fewer points - and could have well been relegated, having stayed up by just four points that year.

So, not only was it an impressive loan spell but an important one for Ipswich who could have been playing League One football if it wasn’t for the exploits of the Wales international.

Despite being little-known, Lawrence soon became a star at Portman Road and one of their most important players that season as they narrowly avoided relegation after an impressive campaign the year before.

If the club's fans didn't know who he was before he played, they certainly do now after an influential contribution during the 2016/17 campaign.