Derby County have confirmed the signing of released Blues forward Kayden Jackson on a two-year deal.

Jackson, 30, left Town at the end of the season after six years at Portman Road with his contract officially up at the end of June.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, to be honest,” the 30-year-old told RamsTV. “It feels like an age since we started discussions and as soon as I came here, saw the place and got a feel for the club, I knew it was somewhere that I wanted to be.

“I met the boss [Paul Warne] six or seven years ago and we’ve always kept in touch and congratulated each other when we’ve had success.

“It’s been a long time coming. He reached out when I left Ipswich and from then it was a case of: 'let’s get it done’.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations over the last three or four weeks but it’s always good speaking to him. As soon as I did the first time, I knew I wanted to be here.”

Regarding his time at Town, he added: “It didn’t really sink in that I’d left there until a week or two ago. I’d been there for six years so it felt like all I really knew.

“It was the right time to move on, though, for my career and for the club side of things as well.

“It was good that this deal could get sorted so quickly and to have somewhere to come to like this, leaving Ipswich to come to somewhere with as good facilities, if not better, is something I’m really excited about.”

Rams boss Warne is a long-time admirer of Jackson having tried to sign him on a number of occasions while manager of Rotherham.

Jackson joined the Blues from Accrington Stanley for £1.6 million under Paul Hurst in the summer of 2018 and had a topsy-turvy time at Portman Road, having been out of the picture and seemingly on his way out of the club under Paul Lambert and Paul Cook before becoming an important member of Kieran McKenna’s squad, albeit with most of his appearances having come off the bench.

Overall, he made exactly 100 starts and 99 sub appearances for the club, scoring 28 goals.

Elsewhere, Leeds have confirmed the signing of Tottenham centre-half Joe Rodon, who Town were reported to have made a verbal offer for earlier in the week.

The Wales international has signed a four-year deal for a fee understood to be £10 million.

Meanwhile, Ex-Town striker Brett Pitman, 36, is continuing his career having signed for Wessex League Premier Division Baffins Milton Rovers having left Shaftesbury recently after a season in which he netted 61 times in all competitions. Pitman also works as a coach at AFC Bournemouth’s academy.

Photo: Matchday Images

NthQldITFC added 12:26 - Jul 2 Good luck with Rams Kayden, top, top servant to ITFC and a great human being too.
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muccletonjoe added 12:37 - Jul 2 100% guy, have nothing but good things to say about him. Good luck at Derby my man.
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BlueBoots added 12:38 - Jul 2 Great stuff - hattricks against Norwich and Leeds, and 3 promotions on the bounce please, KJ :^D
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Help added 12:42 - Jul 2 Good luck and best wishes
8

Cloddyseedbed added 12:50 - Jul 2 Top human and professional. He has served the club excellently since he has been at Ipswich and had to deal with a lot of sh*t from previous managers. I wish him well.
15

Ryorry added 12:57 - Jul 2 Didn't realise it was Paul Hurst who signed KJ - well at least he did one good thing for us as a manager then! Real sorry to see you go Kayden - always knew we had a good chance of getting goals when you came off the bench, and always admired your great attitude both on the pitch & off. All the very best to you.
12

Robert_Garrett added 13:12 - Jul 2 Good luck Hayden - you are always one of the Blues family - come back when you can and you are always welcome.
5

dirtydingusmagee added 14:15 - Jul 2 Good luck to him genuine bloke
6

flykickingbybgunn added 14:48 - Jul 2 A bloke with a great attitude who always tried his best.
5

Marcus added 15:10 - Jul 2 Good luck. One of our best players at winning and holding the ball, skills which can be overlooked with forwards with a focus on goals and assists. Derby is a great club to play out the remainder of his career, hopefully, a few regular games and perhaps the style of play is better fitted.
1

Bazza8564 added 15:56 - Jul 2 Very nice fella, I wish Kayden nothing but success at DCFC
3

Flight_of_Shefki added 16:08 - Jul 2 Fantastic for him. I love these positive vibes of footy.
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Argyle_blue added 16:18 - Jul 2 A top professional and a top bloke too. Dedicated, humble, hard working as well as very rapid! Best of luck at Derby - they’re lucky to have you.
2

ArmaghBlue added 16:44 - Jul 2 Farewell, Jacko. All the best at Derby
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WestSussexBlue added 16:49 - Jul 2 Good Luck KJ, you’ve been a great servant for Town. Not sure about the “better facilities” though. All the best Mate.
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therein61 added 18:05 - Jul 2 Wishing him all the very best for the future at Derby one thing for sure he will not let them down he is a top man as proved from his awful treatment by past so called managers and his not rocking the boat K.M saw enough in him and restored his confidence and he always put an honest shift in when called upon.
1

gosblue added 18:59 - Jul 2 Derby fans will be well impressed by his pace, energy and stamina. Thank you for your service Kayden. Good luck at The Rams
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MVBlue added 19:32 - Jul 2 Hi is quite a story. Will always appreciate what he did for us.
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Tractor_Boy_in_HK added 05:22 - Jul 3 Congratulations and good luck, KJ. Thought he was an expensive, poor signing, and it proved to be...but hard work, grit and perseverance turned the experience positive as KMcK found a role for KJ and the player embraced the role. Good servant to the club, and everyone knows best to move on now.
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MickMillsTash added 09:51 - Jul 3 A player with pace can always promise so much but its never quite that simple McKenna got the best out of him, I hope Warne has watched the films and will do the same - Would not be putting him on pens.
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Fat_Boy_Tim added 16:18 - Jul 3 This is evidence that the benefits of promotion even extend to players who aren’t going with us. If we had consolidated in the Championship (let’s say lost a Playoff semi). I don’t think Jackson gets a Championship move and I don’t think Gas gets a £1m move to Charlton. Both big clubs who haven’t very often been chasing our out of favour players. Good luck KJ. I hope you can get a good run on the right wing because I always thought you could do a good job with more game time and less traffic (Wes and Omari) in the way.

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