It has been a disappointing couple of years in League One for Ipswich Town.

The Tractor Boys were unable to escape the clutches of the third tier under Paul Lambert last season, and look to have left it too late to do so under Paul Cook this time around.

Cook is an experienced manager who knows to build a winning mentality, though, having won league titles with Chesterfield, Portsmouth and Wigan Athletic.

This summer will be vital for Cook as he looks to rebuild his squad and bolster it with fresh faces.

It will be interesting to see what sort of funds Cook is given to work with this summer, given that there is talk of new ownership potentially being in place at Portman Road.

On the topic of money and new signings, who are Ipswich Town's top 10 most expensive signings of all-time?

Have a look through our list and see...

Makin kicks off our list after he joined Ipswich from Sunderland in 2001 for a fee of £1.25million.

Makin spent four years at the Stadium of Light and helped them win the First Division league title in 1998/99 under Peter Reid.

He ended up spending three years at Portman Road and racked up over 80 appearances for the Suffolk club.

He left for Leicester City in 2004, but ended his career at Southampton before retiring with an ongoing hip problem.

He did have a bit of non-league experience with Radcliffe Borough, who play in Greater Manchester.

Martin comes in at number nine on our list, with the midfielder joining Ipswich from Manchester United for £1.5million in 2009.

Martin made only one league start for United before leaving for Ipswich the following year, joining the club when they were managed by Roy Keane.

But at the end of the season, he was made available for transfer by the Irishman and subsequently joined Millwall in 2013.

Now 34 years of age, the midfielder is playing in the National League South for Ebbsfleet United having spent two years at Exeter City.

He made over 100 appearances for Ipswich in all competitions.

Taylor also joined Ipswich for a fee of £1.5million, arriving on August transfer deadline day of 2012.

Taylor had scored 12 goals to keep Peterborough in the Championship the previous season, and he was an exciting signing for Ipswich.

Off-field issues hampered Taylor's time at Portman Road, though, and he made only 21 league appearances before leaving the club in 2015.

He had loan spells with Rotherham, Blackburn and Peterborough during his time at Ipswich and failed to live up to expectations.

He was most recently at Stevenage in League Two, but is yet to find another club.

Grant Leadbitter is believed to have arrived at Portman Road for a fee of around £2.6million in 2009.

Leadbitter came through the ranks at Sunderland, making plenty of first-team appearances for the Black Cats before leaving for Suffolk in 2009.

He spent three years at Ipswich, and was named club captain in his final season at Portman Road.

After making 116 appearances for the club, he returned to the North East and signed for Sunderland.

He's now playing in League One for Sunderland, and is a key player for the Black Cats as they look to escape the third tier under Lee Johnson.

Norris joined Ipswich from Plymouth Argyle in 2008, for a fee believed to be in the region of £2.7million according to Transfermarkt.

He was a fantastic servant for Argyle, and also became a fans' favourite at Ipswich as he went on to make well over 110 appearances for the club.

He turned down a new deal at Portman Road in 2011, though, and joined Portsmouth as they began to spiral down the leagues due to off-field issues.

He's now 40-years-old but is playing in non-league for Lancaster City. He has also been at Salford, Leatherhead, Shaw Lane and Boston United in recent years.

After spending four years at Huddersfield Town, Stewart joined Ipswich for around £2.75million in 2000.

The striker was a fans' favourite at Huddersfield, but was controversially sold to the Tractor Boys towards the end of 1999/2000.

Stewart helped them win promotion, scoring in the play-off semi-final and play-off final as they went up to the Premier League.

He left for Sunderland in 2002, scoring 19 goals in the 2000/01 season as Ipswich finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup.

He finished his career at Exeter City and was recently assistant manager of Walsall alongside Darrell Clarke.

Bent is Ipswich's fourth most expensive signing of all time, after he arrived from Blackburn for around £3million in 2001.

He scored nine goals in 22 starts for Ipswich as they were relegated from the Premier League in his first season at Portman Road.

The next season, they narrowly missed out on a play-off finish after he scored 12 goals in 38 games for the club.

He left the club for Premier League side Everton in 2004, though, and went on to have spells with the likes of Charlton and Birmingham City.

He has now retired after most recently playing for Cornard United.

Finidi George is Ipswich's third most expensive signing of all time as we begin to move into the top three...

Ipswich spent big to sign Nigerian international winger George from Mallorca for £3.1million on a four-year contract back in 2001.

His most notable appearance was when he scored a brace in a win over Derby County, but he quickly fell out of favour once they were relegated from the Premier League.

He was released from his contract at the end of the 2002/03 campaign, and later went on to have another spell at Mallorca.

Narrowly missing out on top spot is Hermann Hreidarsson, who joined Ipswich for £4.5million from Wimbledon in 2000.

The Icelandic defender endured a spell of mixed fortunes at Portman Road, as they finished in the UEFA Cup qualification places in his first season, but suffered relegation the next.

After Ipswich, he went on to have spells with Charlton Athletic and then Portsmouth, before ending his playing career back in his native with Fylkir.

He then moved into management, taking charge of IBV before having assistant managerial spells with Kerala Blasters and then Southend United.

He's now manager of Þróttur Vogum in Iceland and misses out on top spot, but only just.

Matteo Sereni is Ipswich's club-record signing after he arrived from Sampdoria in 2001.

BBC report that the fee was £4.5million, however other reports believe that a deal eventually rose to nearly £4.75million.

After failing to survive relegation in his first year at the club, Sereni moved back on loan to Italy with Brescia.

In 2003, he moved to Lazio on a permanent deal, before going on to have spells with the likes of Treviso and Torino.

He retired from the game in 2011 after making only 25 league appearances for Ipswich during his brief spell with the club.