Town have confirmed the signing of Joe Garner from Rangers on a three-year deal. On Sunday, TWTD revealed that the Blues were closing in on the recruitment of the 29-year-old.

The former Preston man joins the Blues for a fee which is officially undisclosed but which we understand is £1 million, the largest paid during Mick McCarthy's time as boss. Town's last seven-figure fee was the £1.5 million spent when Paul Taylor joined from Peterborough in August 2012.

Garner is a former team-mate of skipper Luke Chambers and David McGoldrick at Nottingham Forest and he says he spoke to them in addition to conversations with manager Mick McCarthy.

“I spoke to both of them and they couldn’t speak highly enough of Ipswich and the manager,” he told the club site.""

“I’ve had a couple of conversations with the manager as well and he told me of his ideas for this season and I can’t wait to get going now."

“There has been interest from Ipswich in the past but I’m delighted to have this opportunity now to come down and play here.""

“It’s good to get things done early as well. I’ve had a few moves when you join in the last week of pre-season and it’s always harder to settle in then but here I can start with the other lads for a full pre-season and I’m looking forward to it.

“I know all about the Championship. It’s the toughest league I have played in but we’ve got some good players here and I’m ready for the challenge.

""“I had a great time at Rangers and got on well with the fans there but that’s behind me now. It’s a new chapter for me here.”""

Garner, who got married in his native Lancashire earlier today, moved to Ibrox from Preston for a reported £1.4 million last summer, when we understand Town were also interested, signing a three-year contract.

📽️ | New #itfc signing, Joe Garner, speaks to iFollow Ipswich after making the switch to Portman Road from Rangers #JoeJoins pic.twitter.com/k8QDL9nyVi– Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) June 16, 2017

The former England U16, U17 and U19 international scored 10 goals in 22 starts and 12 sub appearances during 2016/17.

Garner started his career with his hometown club Blackburn Rovers but was unable to break into the first team prior to moving on to Carlisle, initially on loan, then Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield (loan), Scunthorpe (loan), Watford and Carlisle for a further loan spell before joining Preston in 2013.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES 👀 | Take a tour of Portman Road with Joe Garner, as the striker pens his three-year contract at #itfc #JoeJoins pic.twitter.com/SA1PkGNY3F– Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) June 16, 2017

While with the Lilywhites the 5ft 10in tall frontman scored a 20-minute second-half hat-trick as the Lancastrians beat the Blues 3-2 in an FA Cup third round replay at Deepdale in January 2014.

The following season Garner won the League One Player of the Year award as he helped Preston into the Championship via the play-offs.

Photos: ITFC

NeedhamBlue added 09:52 - Jun 17 Pleased to see a opulent of signings, hopefully more to follow. Anyone know if there's anything happening with Huws and Diagouraga?
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NeedhamBlue added 09:52 - Jun 17 a couple*
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midastouch added 10:25 - Jun 17 If he can recapture some of his best old form the fee might look a bargain. I hope his best days aren't behind him and he can recapture some of his best form in a Town shirt. I was unsure at first but then I watched him on YouTube and was surprised at what I saw. Hopefully they'll be plenty more highlights of him to come in a Blue shirt. I'm sitting on the fence as just not sure what to expect. His goal tally in recent seasons or goals to games ratio isn't the best, but a fresh start might be just what the doctor ordered for Joe Garner and if not I guess there's always the Colchester Utd retirement home waiting down the road for him if necessary! Hopefully it won't come to that! The very best of luck Joe, I hope you prove as much as a hit with the fans as Lawro believes you you will become.

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yungblue added 10:51 - Jun 17 Emyr Huws has to be signed, no matter what!!
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Pilgrimblue added 11:00 - Jun 17 I'm with you Midas as feel we got him two years too late. But hey it might just be what we need! As for MM "ideas for season" I can't imagine what he said.
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TimmyH added 11:46 - Jun 17 Welcome Joe hope all goes well and hope you have a successful spell here BUT imperative now we get a creative scoring midfielder now...
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poldark added 15:04 - Jun 17 One thinks Rangers bit Evans hand off 1m for a Rangers reject same as all this idiot McCarthy can get div 1 here we come McCarthy OUT
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 18:33 - Jun 17 Seems like rather a lot of money to Rangers considering his performances for them, but I welcome him and hope he does well.
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Seasider added 19:31 - Jun 17 At last! Lets hope it will be money well spent?
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dirtydingusmagee added 21:32 - Jun 17 so if he is matey with ''Chambo'' and ''Didsy'' I suppose he will be'' Joesy''....nice !.That's assuming he is different class and a proper bloke . Its all very well getting new players in,Lord knows we need them, but the worrying thing is we still have McCarthy as manager,he is set in his ways, and has one dimentional mentality where tactics are concerned. The players come in and are ''re programmed '', often played out of position,or seldom get regular game, .,

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shakytown added 04:01 - Jun 18 Now we just need a midfield capable of passing the ball forward. The real problems with the squad need to be addressed NOW!!!!!!!!! or this is just a pointless waste of money.
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blue75 added 09:59 - Jun 18 Welcome to our club hope you settle quickly.
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BluePG added 20:00 - Jun 18 Fabulous signing. Hopefully we'll get Andy Roberts, Colin Croft and Sylvester Clarke too.
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DariusBlue added 09:09 - Jun 20 Looks decent. A good range of goals and seems to have a very nice finishing touch. He got some good service on the video compilation though - we need to ensure we give him the same.
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