Whitehead Persuaded Not to Join Town - Ipswich Town News
Stoke winger Liam Lawrence has revealed that he persuaded his former Sunderland team-mate Dean Whitehead not to join the Blues and to move to the Britannia Stadium instead.
Whitehead was part of a proposed £5 million deal with Daryl Murphy which fell through last weekend, but is now close to joining Tony Pulis's club.
Lawrence says he tried to convince the former Oxford midfielder that the Potteries is the place to be: "I said a few things which I had better not go into. I just said you want to be in the best league and this is a club going forward here at Stoke.
"I spoke to him the other day and I speak to him quite regularly. Obviously the gaffer fancies him and he asked me about him. I gave it my full backing.
"Maybe it's time he moved on from Sunderland for a new challenge. Yeah, it would be great if they thrash things out and he comes here.â€Â
Elsewhere, midfielder Alan Quinn has again been linked with a move to Barnsley. The Tykes are said to be ready to pay £150,000 for the ex-Sheffield United and Wednesday man.
What to read next:
Pert: Young Will Be a Real AssetAssistant manager Martyn Pert believes new signing Ashley Young will be a “real asset” for the Blues in the season ahead, the former England international having made his first appearance in a Town shirt in last night’s 2-1 friendly victory over Charlton Athletic at Colchester’s JobServe Community Stadium.
U18s Beaten at BuryTown's U18s were well-beaten 3-0 by Bury Town at Ram Meadow on Tuesday evening as the non-league side reclaimed the Martin Swallow Memorial Trophy, with two of their three goals coming via former Blues academy players.
Ipswich Town 2-1 Charlton Athletic - Match ReportJack Clarke and Ali Al-Hamadi were on target as the Blues beat Charlton Athletic 2-1 in their penultimate friendly of the summer at Colchester United’s JobServe Community Stadium. Town were on top throughout with all the goals coming in the second half, while Ashley Young made his first appearance for the club as a sub alongside Omari Hutchinson, back after his England U21s heroics over the summer.