Portsmouth loanee and Spurs youngster Dane Scarlett was transfer target of Ipswich in January

That’s according to dedicated Tractor Boys website twtd.co.uk – and it’s something Portman Road chief executive Mark Ashton confirmed in an interview with the media outlet this week.

Ipswich completed four signings during the last transfer window, bringing in Massimo Luongo, Nathan Broadhead and Harry Clarke on permanent deals and former Blues loanee George Hirst on loan.

Yet there were others in the offing, too, with Swansea’s Morgan Whittaker and Peterborough’s Jack Taylor also reportedly being monitored.

Scarlett, who is on loan at Pompey from Spurs for the season, was also being considered as big-spending Ipswich looked to bolster their ranks further.

Ashton confirmed that was one of many possibilities the Suffolk side were working on.

When asked specifically about Scarlett, the Tractor Boys chief said: ‘Another name that was mentioned.

‘There are probably 15 others that I could reel off that we were doing work on.

‘You don’t work on one deal and then when that falls away, you start on the next one.

‘You’ve got plates spinning all the time and the work for January really started at the back end of August, it was that early this year that we were onto it.’

Scarlett, who misses today’s game against Port Vale because of England under-20 international commitments, has scored six goals in 37 loan appearances for the Blues this season.

He will return to parent club Spurs once Pompey’s League One season has concluded.

This week it emerged that Ipswich are also keen on Blues top scorer Colby Bishop.