Town keeper Arran Lee-Barrett has agreed a new 18-month deal with the club. The 25-year-old’s short-term contract with the Blues was due to end today.
Boss Roy Keane said: "I think Arran should be signing today and he deserves a new contract. He has done well for us but the hard work starts now. He knows he has got a battle on with Brian Murphy for the number one jersey and who knows if there will be another keeper coming in."
Lee-Barrett added: "There were one or two whispers from other clubs but staying at Ipswich was always the thing I wanted.
"I'm really enjoying my time here and the club have been great to me. They have shown a lot of faith in me, so it was an easy decision to make."
Last week, Keane said he had been delighted with the Lee-Barrett since he joined the club on a short-term deal after Shane Supple’s retirement in August: "Arran’s done very, very well for us, but you have to remember that we’ve done well for Arran. Four or five months ago he was in no man’s land.”
Lee-Barrett was in the same year in the Town academy as Darren Bent and Darren Ambrose but was released at 16 when he moved on to Norwich’s youth set-up, where he worked with Blues keeper-coach James Hollman.
After spells with Cardiff, Weymouth and Coventry, he established himself as first-choice at Hartlepool, before being released last summer.
The 6ft 2in tall glovesman has made eight starts and one sub appearance for Town.
Photo: ITFC