Ipswich Town will hope for a repeat of £4.5m deal if they reach the Premier League: View | OneFootball

Ipswich Town are still in the hunt for promotion to the Premier League as we approach the final few months of the season.

Despite only securing promotion to the Championship last season, Kieran McKenna has orchestrated the club's miraculous rise up the table, with the Tractor Boys seeking to return to the top flight for the first time in 22 years.

Whilst they enjoyed their golden years under Sir Bobby Robson, winning an FA Cup and UEFA Cup trophy as well as twice finishing runners-up in the old first division, during a 13-year spell from 1969 to 1982, Ipswich had a brief two-year stint back in the Premier League during the turn of the Millennium.

It was at this time that they signed Icelandic defender Hermann Hreiðarsson for a club-record fee. In their first year back in the Premier League since relegation in 1994, Ipswich finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Their success was short-lived, however, and the Tractor Boys were relegated the following season. Hreiðarsson was sold to Charlton Athletic in March 2003 due to Ipswich being placed in administration, though he was unable to play for the Addicks for the remainder of that season and stayed at Portman Road to help Ipswich secure a seventh-placed finish.

Hreiðarsson would cement his reputation as a dependable Premier League defender, and if Ipswich are to be promoted this season, they'd do well to find a player as reliable as Hreiðarsson.

Hreiðarsson helped Ipswich reach Europe

Hreiðarsson arrived at newly promoted Ipswich from Wimbledon for £4.5m and quickly became an integral member of the squad, making 45 appearances in all competitions as the Tractor Boys reached the League Cup semi-finals and finished fifth in the Premier League.

Widely tipped for relegation, Hreiðarsson helped Ipswich defy expectations, and were it not for a 2-1 loss to Charlton, Ipswich were on course to secure a place in the European Cup for the first time in 40 years.

Ipswich fell victim to second-season syndrome the next year and were rock bottom of the Premier League after 18 games with just one win to their name.

Their European dream ended in the third round, losing 4-2 on aggregate to Inter Milan. But it was not without its moments, and a famous 1-0 win over Inter in the first leg at Portman Road lives long in the memory.

Hreiðarsson left for Charlton the next season but is still fondly remembered at Ipswich as part of their last great side.

Ipswich will need Premier League experience if promoted

Ipswich are a team punching above their weight at the moment, and should they secure promotion to the Premier League, they will only have a handful of players with experience of playing at that level.

Axel Tuanzebe, Sone Aluko and Leif Davis are the only permanent players with top flight experience, whilst loanees Kieffer Moore, Brandon Williams and Jeremy Sarmiento have all played top flight football.

As such, the club should be seeking to repeat the sort of business that they did landing Hermann Hreiðarsson if indeed they go up this season.

The inexperience outlined above would leave McKenna and the majority of his squad potentially ill-prepared, i for the unrelenting nature of the Premier League.

Hreiðarsson, from his time at Crystal Palace and Wimbledon, had a breadth of experience in the Premier League when he arrived at Ipswich, and this nouse was a huge factor in helping Ipswich towards a historic first season back in the Premier League.