All Seven Out-of-Contract Senior Players Released Monday, 20th May 2019 11:14 Grant Ward, Dean Gerken, Jonas Knudsen, Jordan Spence, James Collins, Tom Adeyemi and Simon Dawkins have all been released by the Blues. Town confirmed their retained list this morning with all seven of the out-of-contract senior players set to move on. The club had options to keep Ward, Gerken, Adeyemi, Spence and Dawkins but, despite having held talks with a number of those players, decided not to take them up. Gerken, 33, joined Town on a free transfer after a trial having left Bristol City in the summer of 2013. The Rochford-born keeper went on to make 113 starts for the Blues, including the recent defeats to Swansea and Sheffield United. We understand Gerken had made it clear to Town that he was keen to look for another club where he was more likely to start regularly having been a sub for much of his time with the Blues. His former club Colchester are believed to be interested. Gerken’s exit means the Blues will be looking for another keeper this summer with Gillingham’s out-of-contract Czech glovesman Tomas Holy in talks, while we understand QPR’s Matt Ingram - who has a year left on his deal at Loftus Road but is set to move on this summer - and Exeter’s Christy Pym have also been spoken to regarding a move to Town. Spence, 28, joined the club in January 2018 having been on trial earlier in the season following his departure from the MK Dons after their relegation the previous summer. The former West Ham trainee and ex-England U21 international made 69 starts and seven sub appearances, scoring four goals. Knudsen, 26, move to the Blues from hometown club Esbjerg fB in July 2015 for a fee of £300,000. The Danish international went on to make 153 starts and two sub appearances for the Blues, scoring four times, two against Norwich. He also appeared at last summer’s World Cup with Denmark, making his only appearance in their round of 16 defeat to eventual finalists Croatia. In January he told the club he was keen to move on but no one came in for him. We understand Knudsen is still to find a new side despite links with clubs in Denmark and Germany. Ward, 24, signed from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee understood to be £500,000 in the summer of 2016 and made a dramatic impact when he scored a debut hat-trick which included a goal with his first touch for the Blues.
The Londoner made 75 starts and 23 sub appearances for the Blues, scoring eight goals. His 2019/20 was cut short when he suffered an ACL injury at QPR on Boxing Day. Town are obliged to get injured players fit before they depart the club. Adeyemi, 27, missed most of last season with a hamstring problem and then all of this season after picking up an achilles injury which required surgery in pre-season. The former Norwich youngster only made a total of four starts and one sub appearance for the Blues. Collins and Dawkins joined Town on short-term deals in January. Former West Ham man Collins, 35, impressed in his six starts for the Blues but was unavailable for much of his time at Portman Road due to injury. Ex-San Jose Earthquakes and Derby County winger Dawkins, 31, made little impression in his months at the club, making just two sub appearances. As previously reported, youngsters Conor McKendry, Chris Smith and Ryley Scott, who had a trial with Colchester in March, are also moving on. We understand the club has taken up the option for a further year on defender Pat Webber, 20, despite the former Worthing youngster having been allowed to go out on trial at Wigan and Millwall in January with both clubs having shown interest in signing him.
Photo: TWTD Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 295 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
