Ipswich Town’s Janoi Donacien has yet to play under Paul Lambert.
According to a report in the East Anglian Daily Times, Ipswich Town are committed to signing Janoi Donacien for a fee of £750,000 once his work permit issues are resolved.
The report claims the Tractor Boys initially took him loan from Accrington Stanley because of delays over a work permit, but the fee was negotiated and managing director Ian Milne says the club won’t pull out of a deal.
“It’s just a case of bureaucracy and there is no reason to believe that’s not going to come through. It’s all in place – it’s got to happen,” Milne said.
Donacien has played under Paul Lambert before as he was once on the books of Aston Villa as a youngster, but similar to then, the now 25-year-old finds himself watching first-team action from the side-lines.
The former Villa defender was brought to Portman Road by former manager Paul Hurst and made nine Championship starts for the club, but since Lambert’s arrival he hasn’t featured at all.
Donacien’s last appearance came in the 2-0 home defeat to Queens Park Rangers back in October, and Lambert has said upon taking over how he sees the player as a central-defender rather than a full-back.
With captain Luke Chambers and on-loan Everton defender Matthew Pennington the first-choice central defensive pair, it could be a while before Donacien gets another taste of first-team action at Ipswich.
In his nine Championship starts this term, the St Lucian-born defender has averaged 2.5 tackles and 3.1 effective clearances per league encounter (Whoscored).
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