Ipswich Town midfielder Sam Morsy has insisted that he thoroughly enjoyed his time at Middlesbrough and that he only dropped down to League One because of Paul Cook’s influence.

Morsy had only been with Middlesbrough for around a year having arrived at the Riverside Stadium from Wigan Athletic last summer.

However, despite having been a regular under Neil Warnock last term, it emerged that the midfielder could depart Boro amid interest from elsewhere ahead of the window closing.

The Tractor Boys were amongst the sides to be most heavily linked with a move for Morsy, and the obvious connection between the midfielder and Paul Cook from their time together at Wigan made the transfer a possibility before the summer window came to an end.

Eventually, Morsy’s switch from Middlesbrough to Ipswich was confirmed and it sees the holding midfielder link back up with Cook at Portman Road. The 29-year-old will now be aiming to try and get the Tractor Boys promoted to justify the move.

Speaking to the East Anglian Daily Times, Morsy insisted that despite leaving the club he thoroughly enjoyed his time with Middlesbrough over the last year. While he also explained that he would not have dropped down a division if it was not for Cook’s influence.

He said: "Not a chance. We’ve been very successful together and I think he’s built a very exciting squad.

"I loved my time at Middlesbrough; the manager, the staff, the players and the fans have all been amazing with me. When it was time for me to leave, I couldn’t think of a better place for me to move to than Ipswich.

"There were a couple of options but then the big pull for me was knowing the manager; his style of play, his record. I don’t want to be dropping down a level but hopefully it is just a season and then we can get this club closer back to where it belongs and striving to do well."

The verdict

In truth, this was one of the more surprising moves of the transfer window in the EFL this season. Ipswich undoubtedly had shown a large amount of ambition and pulled off some transfer coups for League One this summer, but bringing in Morsy from Boro was not a move that seemed possible a few weeks ago.

Morsy had been a key member of Middlesbrough’s squad over the last year and with them having ambitions to challenge for promotion this term from the Championship it seemed unlikely that they would allow him to leave.

In the end though, Morsy probably made it clear that he saw his future with Ipswich given that Cook was in charge at Portman Road. That is understandable given the connection that remains between the pair from their time working together at Wigan Athletic.

The midfielder will be keen to show that he made the right choice and that will only be achieved if he can play a vital role in getting Ipswich back into the Championship this term.