Pop-star Ed Sheeran plays a crucial role in sealing Ipswich transfer deal

LONDON - Ed Sheeran, the famous pop-star and die-hard Ipswich Town supporter, used his influence to help the Premier League club secure a new player before the start of the 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 per cent 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 Nov 21.

“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.