Town have confirmed the signing of former Crawley Town winger Jordan Roberts on a free transfer. The 24-year-old, who will officially become a Blues player on July 1st, has signed a two-year deal.
TWTD revealed yesterday that Town had made a move for Roberts, who was also interesting Bolton and Hearts.
Roberts, who becomes new manager Paul Hurst's first permanent Blues signing, left League Two Crawley at the end of last season having previously been among the players Hurst was chasing during his time at Shrewsbury.
"I’m over the moon to get the deal done and join such a big club,” Roberts told iFollow Ipswich.
"I want to go as far as I can and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to express myself here and hopefully give the fans something to cheer about.
"I’ve enjoyed my spells with different clubs but I would say that this move has come at the right time for me. It’s a chance for me to get out there on a bigger stage, at a good club and show everyone what I can do.
"Overall I would say I’m a player that likes to get on the ball, create chances and generally be as exciting as possible.
"And having had a brief chat with the manager and some of the lads, I just can’t wait to get to work.”
A youth player with Peterborough and Aldershot, Roberts broke into senior football with the Hampshire side, playing in both League Two and the National League during four seasons and making 68 starts and 24 sub appearances, scoring 12 goals. He also won two England C caps, scoring once.
Early on during his stint with the Shots he also had short spells in non-league on loan at Havant and Waterlooville, Tamworth and Bishop’s Stortford before eventually joining Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a permanent basis in 2015.
After one season in the Scottish Premiership - nine starts, four sub appearances and three goals - the Watford-born left-sided wideman moved on to Crawley on a free transfer.
During his two seasons at the Checkatrade Stadium Roberts, who is 6ft 1in tall, made 42 starts and 20 sub appearances, scoring 11 goals.
Roberts caught the eye of Blues boss Hurst during his time as Shrews manager and he made an unsuccessful attempt to sign him on deadline day in January.
He eventually left Crawley at the end the season and a week ago was reported to be close to making a return to Scotland to join Hearts having visited the Edinburgh club and been given a tour of Tynecastle and their Oriam training ground. Bolton Wanderers were also said to be keen.
Roberts’s signing will be far from new boss Hurst’s final bit of business before the transfer window closes on August 9th.
With Adam Webster departing - and the centre-half is unlikely to be the last exit as Hurst puts his own stamp on the squad - the Blues will need at least one more senior central defender, perhaps two, having already signed Trevoh Chalobah on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
Earlier this week the Blues were linked with a move for Blackpool centre-half Curtis Tilt, while Shrewsbury's Aristote Nsiala has been mentioned in connection with Town on a number of occasions, although his former boss Hurst played down those reports on Monday.
Hurst will almost certainly be after another winger, while he may also be looking to add to his strikers.
Meanwhile, winger Alex Rodman has left Shrewsbury having turned down a new contract. The 31-year-old was a key member of Hurst’s Shrews side and may be someone he could consider bringing to Town.