Colchester United have confirmed the signing of former Blues midfielder Alan Judge on a two-year deal.

Judge had been expected to join the U’s since early May, although Gillingham were also linked and other League One sides were similarly keen.

“I'm delighted to be here. I'm glad it's done and I just want to get going," he told the Colchester Gazette.

“We'd been talking for quite a while and I had a few talks with my family and everything. This was the best option for me in every way, so it's great.

“Family is a major consideration - we've had a few problems off the pitch for the last few years, so that was a big thing for me.

“My kids are settled, this is a good club and I want to get this going and hopefully get into the play-offs again, this year.”

The 32-year-old left Town in April after reaching 29 league appearances with a 30th set to trigger another year on his contract, something manager Paul Cook was unwilling to do.

Nine-times-capped former Republic of Ireland international Judge joined Town from Brentford, whose former academy manager Jon De Souza is director of performance at the JobServe Community Stadium, in January 2019.

The Dubliner went on to make 75 starts and 16 sub appearances for the Blues, scoring eight times.

Judge joins former Blues skipper Luke Chambers, Cole Skuse and Freddie Sears in moving to the U's from Portman Road this summer, while the Colchester squad already featured several other ex-Town men - Dean Gerken, Tommy Smith and Tom Eastman.

The U's have also confirmed the signing of another one-time Blue, Frank Nouble, who rejoins the North Essex side having left Plymouth.

Photo: TWTD

multiplescoregasms added 19:40 - Jun 18 We won't be signing too many until after the Euros, as most of our targets are involved in it. Harry Kane still considering his future, so you never know :-)
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bluewarrior added 19:52 - Jun 18 They'll probably all do okay but very much doubt they'll make top 6. I think Judge had some quality but is the only one I'd miss. The rest should have been sent packing years ago - most of them bang average at best. I heard for the second time today of the undue negative influence that Chambers had in the dressing room and was the main cause of a downing of tools at the club and then says he's surprised not to be offered a coaching contract. I don't think that's a coincidence.

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Bradleyblue89 added 20:01 - Jun 18 It does concern me that there is more news on who has signed for Colchester than for Ipswich.
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PaulRBoast added 20:14 - Jun 18 Do last season Ipswich Town season ticket holders get automatic free transfers?
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Dog added 20:20 - Jun 18 Buzbyblue - coz i have a different opinion i have to jog on. If you want to be a happy clapper and suck it all up feel free. If they tell you there are 3,4,5 in the pipeline and we sign no-one in a week then obviously there is a cause for concern. Especially, if they then tell you they are only keeping 4.3.
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Monkey_Blue added 22:10 - Jun 18 Dog Shush…. You are making sense, that doesn't work on here.
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Marcus added 22:34 - Jun 18 I think ColU have signed a solid bunch on players who can stop their decline. They needed some experience and players capable of dragging them from a slide towards the Conference. It also helps they know each other and that can help them gel faster. As far as our own signings go, we need to be patient. The right signings take time, wrong signings can be done quickly. The season doesn't start with the first friendly and deals are often done late in the transfer window.

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RobsonWark added 22:43 - Jun 18 Marcus added 22:34 - Jun 18 "I think ColU have signed a solid bunch on players who can stop their decline. They needed some experience and players capable of dragging them from a slide towards the Conference. It also helps they know each other and that can help them gel faster." The same players that saw our decline to division 3!! They will now take them to non league!!

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London_Blue added 06:51 - Jun 19 I'm good friends with Robbie Cowling, the owner and Chairman of Colchester. He's passionate about gaining success at Colchester and funds the club to the tune of circa £3m every year. Sadly, money doesn't always buy success, despite his efforts, but I think these signings are very shrewd, especially with Judge. The fact that all these players have Championship experience and will be in and around several promising youngsters, suggests that they could well have a successful campaign next season. I also suspect that Chambo and Skuse are on lower salary contracts on the basis that they were out of contract, 35 years old and happy to be offered roles 15 minutes from home, keeping families settled in the area. Judge would probably have been more expensive but in my opinion, would have been worth it, he's much better than League 2.

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ringwoodblue added 09:15 - Jun 19 I'm surprised Judgey dropped down to a Lg2 club. Looks like he put his family first which is admirable. Cambridge could've been a better option for him though.
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Cloddyseedbed added 12:44 - Jun 19 Wish Judge all the best, he always gave his best despite having personal family problems.
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midastouch added 12:53 - Jun 19 Good luck to him. He seemed a decent guy and was very honest in his interviews. We never quite saw the best of him (obviously the serious injury he picked up when playing against us didn't help his cause) but you could tell he was trying his best. He still showed some glimpses of his quality at times, just not as often as I had hoped when we first signed him. I would have thought he'd be very well equipped in League Two and Colchester could be very happy with him if it all goes to plan. I'm interested to see how they do next season with the likes of Judge, Chambers, Sears and Skuse in their team.

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coolcat added 13:44 - Jun 19 Wishing Judgey all the best. Glad it's worked out for him and his family. Not too much of an upheaval.
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istanblue added 21:52 - Jun 19 Another who is choosing the comfy life at Col Who when he could've played higher-up. Good riddance. Best thing he did here was call that ref a ''bald cu*t''.
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dirtydingusmagee added 10:16 - Jun 21 good luck Alan ,
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Barty added 16:35 - Jun 21 I think Colchester have changed their name to Ipswich Town Veterans
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