Even though a lot has gone right for Ipswich Town in the last two years, there was a time before Kieran McKenna arrived at Portman Road that a big rebuild took place under Paul Cook.

Cook brought in pretty much a whole new squad to deal with and some of those players did not go on to succeed at the Suffolk outfit.

Some were successes of course – Conor Chaplin, Wes Burns, George Edmundson and Sam Morsy all played major parts in their promotion last year but there were others that made a much smaller contribution.

One of those was Joe Pigott, who despite coming in on a free transfer from AFC Wimbledon – therefore not costing much at all – a lot was expected of following his 20-goal season in League One the year prior for the Dons.

Pigott played just 22 times in the league though in his debut season with the Tractor Boys, scoring just twice, and going into last season he was no longer in McKenna’s plans.

He was snapped up by Portsmouth though for the 2022-23 season but despite playing 35 times in League One, most of his outings came as a substitute with four goals scored.

There was little surprise that Pompey did not want to sign Pigott on a permanent basis, and he headed back to Ipswich still an unwanted striker by McKenna, with a summer departure expected.

Pigott set to sign for Leyton Orient

Now, Pigott appears to have gotten his wish as according to Football Insider, the 29-year-old forward is set to head back to League One and is now undergoing a medical with League Two title winners Leyton Orient in order to make the move to Brisbane Road on a permanent basis.

Town have already done business with the O’s this summer by once again sanctioning a loan for Idris El Mizouni following the Tunisian’s success in East London last year, and now they are set to come to an agreement for yet another Ipswich player.

What is Joe Pigott’s contract situation with Ipswich Town?

When joining Ipswich in the summer of 2021, Pigott signed a three-year deal with the club in the hope that he would be the one to fire the club back to the Championship.

Obviously it did not work out like that and going into the 2023-24 season, Pigott has less than 12 months remaining on his contract at Portman Road.

However, according to Ipswich fansite TWTD, Pigott has been allowed to settle his contract with Town in order to make the move to Orient on a free transfer, meaning that they will not make any profit on him whatsoever.

It will represent a fresh start for Pigott who will still feel as though he has something to offer at League One level, having scored 20 times for AFC Wimbledon two years ago and he had a 15-goal campaign two years before that in the third tier as well.

Orient are missing a physical centre-forward despite the signing of Dan Agyei this summer, who has to make the step up from League Two after arriving from Crewe Alexandra, so Pigott will bring competition for him and Aaron Drinan through the middle for Richie Wellens.

Best for all

Pigott isn’t in Kieran McKenna’s plans at Portman Road so it makes sense for him to head for pastures new this summer. He’s shown he can be a standout performer at League One level before from his time at AFC Wimbledon, so the hope will be that he can get back to his best with Orient.

His return of seven goals and three assists in 44 games with Portsmouth isn’t the most eye-catching but most of those appearances came as a substitute. He played second fiddle to Colby Bishop, so it will be intriguing to see just what he can manage if given a regular starting role by Richie Wellens’ side.