Town’s head of recruitment Sam Williams has confirmed his departure from Portman Road and says he moves on “with immense pride and gratitude” following two years of success with the Blues.

Williams, whose replacement is yet to be named, joined Town from in April 2022 from Manchester United where he had been working as a first-team recruitment analyst and academy scout, and he is returning to Old Trafford to take a role as academy lead scout for 17-21-year-olds.

His exit was agreed in February and the former Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield Wednesday academy scout had been working out his notice in the remaining months of the season.

“Last week marked my final week at Ipswich Town FC. It's been an incredible journey over the past two years, highlighted by achieving back-to-back promotions,” Williams wrote on LinkedIn.

“I want to thank [CEO] Mark [Ashton], [manager] Kieran [McKenna], [COO] Luke [Werhun], [assistant manager] Martyn [Pert] and [director of football operations] Gary [Probert] for the opportunity to contribute to this amazing football club.

“A special shoutout to the brilliant recruitment team, Adam Whiteside, Ryan Durrant, Daniel Hill, Adam [Cuthbert], Bob Arber, Chris Pert and Jason Lines as well as those who contributed along the way, Paul Ashworth, Scott Mitchell, Jacob Ashton and Paige Peake.

“Your dedication, sacrifice and expertise behind the scenes has been nothing short of exceptional. It has been a privilege to lead such a talented group.

“The culture at Ipswich Town, defined by collaboration, resilience, and a shared passion for excellence, has been pivotal in our achievements.

“As I move on to a new challenge, I leave with immense pride and gratitude. Here’s to continued success for the club and all who are part of this remarkable journey. Thank you Ipswich Town and up the Tractor Boys!”

Photo: Action Images

Radlett_blue added 09:15 - Jun 3 Kind of an odd move, going from Head of Recruitment at an upwardly mobile club back to recruiting youth players back at Man U. Can only guess it's for personal reasons & he wants to be back in the north-west.
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TractorfactorSteve added 09:16 - Jun 3 The club's certainly moved on from the days of Ron Gray.
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trncbluearmy added 09:23 - Jun 3 Agreed, sounds like other reasons rather then football
2

Gilesy added 09:47 - Jun 3 Is it just me or is the word "sacrifice" used a bit too freely these days? Anyway, good luck to him!
2

NorthLondonBlue2 added 09:51 - Jun 3 Classy leaving statement. I’m sure his replacement has been recruited already and will be announced shortly
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ArnieM added 10:34 - Jun 3 Hmm head of Man Utd academy eh, I wonder how many of youngsters he will be looking to come back for then? Good luck at MUFC, but please don’t come back and nick our young talent.
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wkj added 10:35 - Jun 3 I wouldn't be at all surprised if it is a case of his family being unsettled in the area, thankfully not the case with KM's family.
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JewellintheTown added 10:54 - Jun 3 Seems to have done a good job and my gratitude to Sam for that. Hopefully we can attract and equally good if not better replacement now we're in the Prem.
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runningout added 12:13 - Jun 3 not going to be patronising, as haven’t got a clue what’s going on and none of my business:-)
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dangerous30 added 13:48 - Jun 3 Good luck for the future and thank you for the hard work
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Edmundo added 15:40 - Jun 3 Good luck. Bit of a sideways step going to a comatose giant like Man U.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 15:57 - Jun 3 If his departure was known in February, I would imagine plans are well advanced for a replacement.
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Tampa_Florida_Blue added 19:31 - Jun 3 The only reason which makes sense to me is to be nearer his family. Seeing many of his last jobs was in Manchester general area.
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