Ipswich Town

Image source, Rex Features

Ipswich Town women will play home games at Colchester's JobServe Community Stadium for the next two seasons.

The agreement will also see the club's men's under-21s play a number of games at the venue, which is 16 miles from Ipswich across the Essex border, in 2025-26 and 2026-27.

Town women will play second-tier football for the first time in 2025-26 after winning promotion to the newly renamed WSL2 (Women's Super League 2) last season, having played home games at Felixstowe & Walton United for more than a decade.

The deal will see upgrades to the pitch at the JobServe Community Stadium ahead of the new season.

Rachel Harris, Town's head of women's football, told the club website, external: "With the additional requirements and challenges following promotion to the second tier for the first time, it sadly wasn't possible to maintain the Martello as our home. We're excited to be playing our WSL2 games at Colchester, and we can't wait to welcome our fans to the stadium as we make the step up next season."

Town chairman Mark Ashton said: "We're excited for the possibilities available to us at Colchester and look forward to seeing as many of our fans there as possible supporting Joe Sheehan and his team."

Following record crowds in each of the past two campaigns, the club intends to host the women's team at Portman Road during the next campaign while work is continuing towards finding a permanent home in the Ipswich area.

The president of Turkish club Trabzonspor has confirmed he is interested in signing Ipswich Town defender Axel Tuanzebe with the 27-year-old former Manchester United man out of contract this summer. (East Anglian Daily Times), external

Want more EFL transfer rumours? Check out Thursday's full gossip column

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Ipswich Town have reportedly joined Birmingham City, Celtic and Rangers in the race to sign Peterborough United's out-of-contract winger Kwame Poku, 23, with the Tractor Boys set to table an official offer. (Football League World), external

Ipswich have also made enquiries about Spanish Chelsea striker Marc Guiu, 19, and Divin Mubama, 20, at Manchester City with both considered as potential options to replace Liam Delap. (East Anglian Daily Times), external

Take a look at Tuesday's full gossip column to see the latest transfer news and rumours from the EFL

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Aberdeen will face recently relegated Premier League club Ipswich Town as part of their pre-season preparations.

The Scottish Cup winners will host the friendly at Pittodrie on Friday, 25 July at 19:30 BST.

Ipswich will spend next season in the English Championship after suffering relegation on their return to the top flight.

The previous meetings between the sides came back in the 1981-82 Uefa Cup, with Sir Bobby Robson's side falling to a 4-2 defeat against Sir Alex Ferguson's Dons over two legs.

Prior to this match, Aberdeen will kick off their pre-season plans with a 10-day training camp in Portugal.

The first team will then take on Cove Rangers at Balmoral Stadium on 12 July.

An Aberdeen XI will also face Peterhead, Inverurie Locos and Formartine United across July.

Aberdeen's pre-season fixtures:

• Wednesday, 9 July: Peterhead v Aberdeen XI, Balmoor Stadium

• Saturday, 12 July: Cove Rangers v Aberdeen, Balmoral Stadium

• Wednesday, 16 July: Inverurie Locos v Aberdeen XI, Harlaw Park

• Saturday, 19 July: Formartine Utd v Aberdeen XI, North Lodge Park

• Friday, 25 July: Aberdeen v Ipswich Town, Pittodrie

Image source, Getty Images

Ipswich Town forward George Hirst scored his first senior goal for Scotland in their 4-0 friendly win over Liechtenstein on Monday.

The 26-year-old touched home at the far post after Che Adams had flicked on an Anthony Ralston cross three minutes after the interval.

Hirst was making his fourth appearance for Scotland's senior team and the game at the Rheinpark Stadion was his second start having been in the XI against Iceland on Friday.

The forward scored five goals for Ipswich last season as they were relegated from the Premier League.

Image source, Getty Images

From international debuts to first goals for their countries, here's what you might have missed over the weekend.

Leicester City midfielder Kasey McAteer scored his first goal for the Republic of Ireland on Friday in what was his maiden start for the side.

The Foxes academy graduate got on the end of the goalkeeper's parry to put his side ahead before Senegal equalised in the 82nd minute for a 1-1 draw.

Ipswich Town midfielder Jack Taylor also made his first international start for the Republic in the friendly.

Nineteen-year-old Birmingham City Under-21s player Menzi Mazwi made his debut for Zimbabwe during their 2-0 loss to South Africa in the COSAFA Cup on Saturday, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute.

Image source, Getty Images

A number of EFL players have been selected in England's Under-21 squad for the European Championships in Slovakia this month.

Birmingham City's Jay Stansfield, who scored 19 goals in 37 League One games to help the Blues win the title and promotion to the second tier, is included.

Stansfield played three times during qualifying but this will be his first appearance at a tournament.

Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney, who netted five league goals and made three assists, is also named in Lee Carsley's 23-man squad, along with Samuel Iling-Junior, who spent time on loan at Boro and Bologna from Aston Villa during the 2024-25 season.

Two players are included from relegated Premier League clubs - Ipswich Town winger Omari Hutchinson and Southampton defender Ronnie Edwards - with the latter spending the second half of the campaign on loan at QPR.

Young Stoke City goalkeeper Tommy Simkin, who made 40 appearances on loan at Walsall in League Two and kept 14 clean sheets, has been picked.

Fellow goalkeepers Teddy Sharman-Lowe, who helped Doncaster Rovers win promotion to League One while on loan from Chelsea, and James Beadle, who spent the season at Sheffield Wednesday on loan from Brighton, will also be on the plane.

The U21 Euros will take place across eight host cities in Slovakia from 11-28 June with the Three Lions looking to retain the title they won in 2023.

England are in a group with Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany and the top two will progress to the quarter-final.

You can see the full England U21 squad for the Euros here.

With Liam Delap departing for Chelsea in a £30m deal, Ipswich Town will be embarking on their return to the Championship without their top scorer.

Blue Monday podcast's Craig Finbow has been speaking with BBC Radio Suffolk about how the Tractor Boys will be looking to fill the void left by the striker in the summer transfer window.

"It could well be two strikers that they look to get in and that will be the intriguing part," Finbow said.

"What do we do, do we potentially go abroad, do we go down the lower leagues? We've done that before with varying levels of success.

"I'd be quite excited to go abroad and find a striker from there."

Ipswich signed Delap for £15m with potential add-ons worth £5m last season.

Despite former club Manchester City also benefiting financially from Delap's move to Stamford Bridge, Ipswich are set to make a profit which Finbow said will go straight back into the squad - though this has not always been the case.

"What we do know is that it will be reinvested, that hasn't happened in the past," he added.

"It doesn't take a very long memory to know that when we sold Daryl Murphy to Newcastle, we got some money and that was then pocketed and disappeared into the ether."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

It is the table no-one wants to be top of.

While some fans will feel pretty comfortable when their team goes in front, for others, it is just the start of what could prove to be an emotional rollercoaster.

The fans who had to suffer the disappointment of wondering 'what might have been' most were those of Tottenham.

If the Premier League season had come down to which side lost the most points from winning positions then Spurs would have been top of the pile.

There were 22 occasions in which Ange Postecoglou's team were in front, but they went on to win only half of those, with four ending in draws and seven in defeat.

While 'Ange-ball' provides entertainment, as shown in the Europa League final, if the Spurs boss had adapted on a few more occasions, they might have found themselves celebrating a more successful league campaign than one that left them a place above the relegation zone.

For Fulham fans, it was hard to know whether they were coming or going.

While they were one of the 'comeback kings' having picked up 21 points from losing positions, they also dropped 28 points from winning ones.

Rather than consistent inconsistency, boss Marco Silva will be hoping for less of a rollercoaster next campaign if they want to achieve their European dream.

There were not a lot occasions in which relegated Southampton and Ipswich were in front, but when they were, they struggled to see them through. The 28 and 27 points lost respectively could have been the difference-makers in the fight to stay up.

At the other end of the scale, Newcastle supporters could often sit comfortably in the knowledge that when they went in front, they were unlikely to see any other result at the end.

In fact, of the 23 games in which they were in a winning position, they drew twice and lost just once - a confidence they will hope to take into the Champions League next season too.

Much was said of Chelsea's questionable defensive abilities and the maturity of such a young side. But despite this, they too were a team regularly able to see out a game they were leading - winning 20 of the 26 such occasions.

Two perhaps more surprising additions at this end of the table are relegated Leicester City and a Manchester United side who set unwanted club records for the season.

While there were not many occasions when the two sides were in a leading position - 10 for Leicester and 16 for United - between them they lost just three times and dropped only 10 and 11 points restrictively.

Some solace for supporters in otherwise underwhelming campaigns.

*Table data from Football365

Seb Brown
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

The sun has set on Ipswich's venture into the Premier League and now the crucial work will begin to ensure the club is ready to mount a return at the first opportunity.

The Liam Delap relegation release clause is a frustration, but its advantage is that it means there will be no long running saga with suitors fighting to win his signature.

Central midfield looks to be the most obvious area in need of attention.

Kalvin Phillips and Massimo Luongo have left, Sam Morsy is another year older, and Jack Taylor has never nailed down a starting spot since joining two summers ago.

We know Kieran McKenna likes to revisit previous targets so Flynn Downes returning to the club could be a possibility, while any permanent move for Jen Cajuste would be welcoming.

Up front, Town may have the ideal Delap replacement in the building already.

George Hirst has proved he can score and assist at Championship level. Ipswich are arguably a better 'team' with him in the starting XI but questions around his durability will persist based on recent history. At least one striker will be needed to provide competition and support.

The transfer strategy over the past two windows has been to buy the very best talent from the Championship. These arrivals should put the club in good shape as it returns to familiar surroundings.

What I would like to see now is some physicality added in key areas. The pace and power of the Premier League found us wanting and will need to be addressed.

While the immediate priority is the promotion challenge next season, Ipswich would do well to have one eye on future requirements.

Find more from Seb Brown at the Blue Monday Podcast, external

Ipswich and England Under-21 striker Liam Delap, 22, has completed the first part of his medical as part of a £30m move to Chelsea. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read 's full gossip column

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Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

A Premier League season can sometimes be a tale of two halves.

Some come flying out of the blocks, while others are more sluggish starters.

The busy Christmas period can be a turning point with the arrival of the January transfer window feeling like a fresh start.

So what might have happened if the league season only start on 1 January?

Well, Pep Guardiola's title-winning machines would have picked up their fifth Premier League trophy in a row.

Playing one game fewer than actual champions Liverpool - who secured the title with four games remaining - they would have finished one point clear of the Reds, not withstanding Arne Slot's side slowdown in form after sealing the title.

City always seem to come good after January, but this time it was not enough to outweigh the torrid time they had from late autumn.

The rest of the top six is not too dissimilar to the final placings, although in this case, Aston Villa would have secured Champions League football and Brighton a Europa League spot in the absence of Chelsea - whose form nose-dived at the very beginning of the year.

And while the new year is a new start for some, it is less so for others.

That was the case for many of those down the bottom of the league.

The relegated trio would still have been relegated and Manchester United and Tottenham would still have ended up in the bottom six. West Ham find themselves one place lower after Wolves picked up form under Vitor Pereira.

So what does this tell us? If you wan to achieve your Premier League ambitions, it is about making sure you are there for nine months and not just from January.

*Table data from Football365

Ipswich Town have offered Chelsea's 19-year-old Spanish forward Marc Guiu a loan deal in the Championship next season. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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