Defender Thomas Gaardsøe is set to complete his switch to West Bromwich Albion today after agreeing terms yesterday evening. The £500,000 transfer of the Danish U21 has caused outrage amongst the Town support, unhappy at yet another popular name exiting Portman Road.

Gaardsøe himself says part of the reason he has chosen to leave is that he wasn't guaranteed a first team place with the Blues, perhaps indicating that Joe Royle does not rate him as highly as many fans.

The former AaB Aalborg player said it was a very difficult decision for him to make but in the end he felt he had to make the move: "The manager was straight with me and told me he could not guarantee me a first-team place. He said he wanted to give the two new signings a fair chance.

"Please thank all the supporters for me. I can't believe how they have been since they have heard and I have been humbled by their reaction.

"They have been very good to me ever since I came to Ipswich and I have a really special feeling for them."

Chief executive Derek Bowden has spoken about why the club felt they had to sell the 23-year-old. He says that Town have a plan, drawn up by himself, David Sheepshanks, the club's financial director Mike Cooper and Joe Royle, aimed at winning promotion.

The acquisitions of Drissa Diallo, Georges Santos and Kelvin Davis were aimed at strengthening the defence, but with the extra players coming in he felt it "makes sense to sell another".

Bowden says that the club's situation is still precarious despite coming out of administration: "The CVA to come out of administration is only the beginning because we have four years of having to meet the CVA.

"The problems are not over. We have to be sure we can live in Division One for four years if we have to, while at the same time building a squad to get us into the Premiership.

"If we get promoted then there is a great upside but what we can't do is go bust shooting for the Premiership."

The former Saatchi and Saatchi man explains that the CVA is comprised of various components including a reduction of player wages from free transfers, players sales as well as the share issue, debenture scheme and the loan stock.

Bowden says that Joe Royle is keen to be in a position early in the season where he can bring in more players should he need to: "By the end of August, which is a critical time with the transfer window closing, we want to be in a position where if Joe needs additional resources and wants to strengthen the squad then he will be able to do it."

He says the club have aims for this summer and warns that Gaardsøe may not be the final departure: "We have a target and we are on course to achieving that. We will accept any reasonable offer for the majority in the squad, although by no means all."

The likes of Darren Bent and Matt Richards are likely to fall into the latter category, the pair players who the club feel will be worth a lot more in years to come as well as fulfilling important roles in the side.

Gaardsøe's fee is understood to rise to £600,000 depending on the usual extras like appearances, a figure which fans are probably more annoyed about than the actual transfer itself.

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