Town manager Jim Magilton has confirmed that Accrington winger Sean Doherty is on trial at Portman Road. Reports over the weekend first revealed that the 22-year-old former Fulham trainee was joining the squad for this week's training sessions.
Magilton said: "I know Sean's dad well and he is a friend of Gary Roberts's, but really we invited him down because he is a lad with real pedigree.
"He was in the same youth side as Wayne Rooney at Everton and he went to Fulham but never really got a chance.”
The Basingstoke-born midfielder started his career at Everton where his father Mick, a former England player at amateur level, was a coach, moving on to Fulham while still a schoolboy, a controversial switch which led to Doherty senior leaving Goodison Park.
Doherty junior failed to make a senior appearance while with the Cottagers despite a number of England youth caps, but played a single game for Blackpool during a loan spell in 2003, before moving to Dutch Eredivisie side ADO Den Haag on a free transfer in the summer of 2005.
After a six months in Holland, Doherty returned to the UK and joined Port Vale where he made three starts and four sub appearances.
Last summer, the primarily left-sided player signed for Accrington Stanley on a free transfer, but after 13 starts and five sub appearances moved on to Conference table-proppers Southport in November.
After two months, six games and one goal Doherty returned to Gary Roberts's former club where he was expected to settle his contract, but was a surprise late sub in last weekend's 2-0 victory over Hereford. His deal with Stanley is up at the end of the season.
Magilton was at Windsor Park last night as a BBC pundit for Northern Ireland's 2-1 victory over Sweden. The Town manager was once again hugely complimentary about Leeds striker David Healy — scorer of both Northern Ireland's goals — describing him as "world class”. Magilton was linked with a move for the 27-year-old earlier in the season.
Get the fastest and most comprehensive Ipswich Town news service at ipswichtown.footballlatest.co.uk.