Ipswich Town may have the smallest wage bill in the Premier League but when it comes to convincing players to join them they can turn to one asset only available to them: a platinum-selling pop star. Ed Sheeran is the biggest personality to come out of Ipswich and even with his relentless touring schedule he still finds time to attend matches, as Ruben Amorim knows only too well. Last year the club’s best-known fan and minority owner made himself available to seal one of their biggest deals.
“A local man, global superstar, sponsor of the football club, now a shareholder and now officially part of our recruitment team,” CEO Mark Ashton said at a Soccerex conference. “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, hopefully that was a key part of getting the player across the line.”
Ashton initially did not want to reveal the identity of the player in question but when asked how he was getting on at the club he responded: “Certainly scoring a few goals!” He could only have been talking about Liam Delap, who has contributed to half of Ipswich’s goals this season and sparked genuine hope of the Tractor Boys surviving their first season back in the top flight for 22 years. The 21-year-old striker has had a stunning debut campaign in the Premier League, attracting the attention of its best clubs and leading to him being touted as the successor to Harry Kane for England.
And next up he faces the team where he began his career and who Ed Sheeran convinced him to leave in order to join Ipswich: Manchester City.