Pop-star Ed Sheeran helped Ipswich transfer deal

LONDON: Pop-star Ed Sheeran used his status as an Ipswich superfan to help the Premier League club sign a player before the start of this season.

Sheeran is a lifelong Ipswich supporter and has been a shirt sponsor for both the men's and women's teams since 2021.

The 33-year-old bought a 1.4 percent minority stake in the club in August following their promotion to the English top flight for the first time in 22 years.

Singer-songwriter Sheeran, a four-time Grammy award winner, has also found a new role at Ipswich.

The club's chairman Mark Ashton revealed he was instrumental in the recruitment of one player after joining a video call with the potential signing.

"A local man, global superstar, sponsor of the football club, now a shareholder and now officially part of our recruitment team," Ashton said at a Soccerex event on Thursday.

"In the summer we were trying to persuade one particular player to join the football club and realised very quickly that he was an Ed Sheeran fan.

"Ed jumped on a Zoom call with him at the training ground just before he stepped on stage with Taylor Swift, hopefully that was a key part of getting the player across the line.

"We've gone from the third tier of English football to the Premier League, but we haven't forgotten our roots and Ed's a key part of that, the work that we do in our local communities is central to us."

Asked if the unnamed player was doing well for Ipswich, Ashton replied: "Certainly scoring a few goals!"

Since the end of last term, Ipswich have signed Blackburn forward Sammie Szmodics, who has netted three times in the current campaign, and Manchester City striker Liam Delap, who has six goals this season.

Sheeran watched Ipswich's first game of the season against Liverpool at Portman Road and was also at Tottenham when Kieran McKenna's team secured their first Premier League win of the campaign in November.

"I have lived in Suffolk since I was three years old and, while I travel the world and sometimes feel like an outsider in big cities, Suffolk and Ipswich have always made me feel part of the community and protected," Sheeran said earlier this year.

"It's such a joy to be a fan of Ipswich Town. There are ups and downs but football is all about taking the highs and the lows."

Ipswich host Manchester United on Sunday in the Red Devils' first game under new boss Ruben Amorim.