Former Blues midfielder Alan Judge says it was only on Thursday morning that he was made aware of the contract situation which led to his shock departure later that day.

Judge, 32, had made 29 League One starts for the Blues this season with a 30th automatically triggering another year on his deal, something the club didn’t want to do.

“Now that I’ve had a few days to think and to just let things settle,” Judge wrote on Twitter. “With the last year that I’ve had, this is not the way I wanted to end my time at Ipswich Town but this is football.

“In all honesty, nothing surprises me anymore in this industry. I was made aware of my contract situation on Thursday morning, that if I played one more game from the start my contract would be extended.

“We both came to the agreement that there was no point in risking our position from both sides’ perspective.

“Me and my family have built up a great life here and met some lovely people at Ipswich in and out of the club.

We have thoroughly enjoyed living in Suffolk. We now await our next adventure wherever that may take us.”

In total, the Republic of Ireland international made 75 starts and 16 sub appearances for Town, scoring eight times, having signed for a nominal fee from Brentford in January 2019.

Speaking about Judge’s departure on Friday, manager Paul Cook said: “Alan will be moving on this summer with my best wishes. In my short time at the club, Alan was an absolute pleasure to work with, a pleasure.

“He's a very infectious young man and he loves his football, he's a very, very strong character and personality around the club. Going forward, I wish him well.”

Photo: Matchday Images

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