Conor Chaplin’s return to his boyhood club Portsmouth on a season-long loan has been confirmed.

TWTD revealed this afternoon that Chaplin was set to make a shock move back to his local club, six and a half years after departing Fratton Park and four years after joining the Blues from Barnsley.

There is a recall clause in the deal which could see the attacker come back to Portman Road in January. His Town contract is up next summer but with the club having an option for a further season.

It’s understood Chaplin was keen to play week in, week out, something which wasn’t guaranteed at Town in the campaign ahead, and when the possibility of a move back to Pompey emerged, the Worthing-born attacker was interested in pursuing it and the club helped facilitate the loan switch. Had it been any other side, the Blues may not have given the greenlight to the move.

“I’m sure that Conor doesn’t really need any introduction to the Pompey faithful,” Pompey boss John Mousinho told his club’s official website.

“This is a deal that I know everyone’s going to be excited about and we’re grateful to Ipswich for loaning him to us.

“We’re delighted to bring in someone who’s a proven Championship goalscorer and was part of a side that recently enjoyed an outstanding season at this level.

“With the fact that he’s at the prime of his career – along with the history he has here – it’s a brilliant signing for us.”

Chaplin, who joins former Blues midfielder Andre Dozzell at Pompey, was a key player in Kieran McKenna’s back-to-back promotion-winning side having signed for his old Pompey boss Paul Cook in the summer of 2021, making a total of 127 starts and 47 sub appearances, scoring 55 times.

Chaplin, who came through the ranks at Portsmouth before moving on to Coventry in January 2019, was joint-top scorer in League One in the 2022/23 campaign, netting 23 times, plus three more in cup competitions.

That season he was named Town’s Player of the Year and the EFL’s League Player of the Year and was included in the EFL and PFA’s League One Teams of the Season.

He also made a strong contribution to the Championship promotion season which followed, scoring 13 times.

The 28-year-old’s involvement was more limited in the Premier League in 2024/25, although he still made 12 starts and 10 sub appearances, scoring once.

Chaplin is one of four senior deadline-day departures, along with Chieo Ogbene, whose loan move to Sheffield United was confirmed earlier, Luke Woolfenden, who is moving to Coventry, and Ali Al-Hamadi, who is departing for Luton, initially on loan.

With Conor Townsend not being registered due to his ACL injury, the Blues are now down to the required 25 players aged above 21 for their Championship squad.

Chaplin’s exit is Town’s last business of what’s been a seismic transfer window for the Blues which has seen the departure of many of the stars of the back-to-back promotion seasons.

In addition to deadline-day departures, skipper Sam Morsy, Massimo Luongo, Nathan Broadhead, Axel Tuanzebe, Marcus Harness, Cameron Burgess and Omari Hutchinson have moved on from the double promotion squad, along with Liam Delap and Aro Muric from last summer's signings, a total of 14 permanent exits, plus four loanees going back to their clubs, although with one of those, Jens Cajuste, returning for a second season.

The Blues signed 11 senior players on a permanent or loan basis - development squad member Luca Fletcher the only recruit on deadline day, from Manchester City initially on loan - with manager Kieran McKenna having admitted that he now has the job of rebuilding his team during a season when much is expected of his side.

In addition to Cajuste, Ivan Azon, Chuba Akpom and Cedric Kipre joined on loan, while David Button, Azor Matusiwa, Sindre Walle Egeli, Ashley Young, Darnell Furlong, Kasey McAteer and Marcelino Nunez all signed on a permanent basis.

Photo: Matchday Images

JewellintheTown added 05:55 - Sep 2 I love & will miss Chappers & we're all hurting one of our hero's has gone, but sentiment aside, from a footballing perspective & wanting to be an established Premiership team again that doesn't yo-yo, we all know the future isn't Chappers. He wanted to go, the club helped him, he wants his mojo back, it's a loan, he could be back in Jan. Lets see how he goes & we go before throwing our teddies out shall we?

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LegendofthePhoenix added 06:04 - Sep 2 Conor Chaplin Baby! The beating heart of this club was Morsy and Chappers. I’m so grateful to Conor for what he brought to this club, which was way, way more than just his football skills. End of an era. Good luck in everything you do Conor.
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Dissboyitfc added 06:47 - Sep 2 reading some of the comments on here, unbelievable Jeff! Hindsight is a wonderful thing, we could have kept the double winning side and not brought any players in saved all that money and got relegated and then we could start this season with the team that got us up! How many would have moaned about lack of investment? I dont believe for a second that KM and Ashton haven't had towns best interests in their hearts trying to move the team forward. I live amongst them and i hate them with a passion but they at least are probably the most ignorant supporters on the planet! They have been suggesting demonstrations against the board for their part in selling Nunez to us, how will that help the team? And how will a toxic environment help at Portman Road help? Get behind the team, we have some exciting new signings to look forward! You cant stand still and attempting to progress doesnt always look and feel great!

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BlueRuin69 added 06:50 - Sep 2 Dismantling of the Band of Brothers complete..........a period of Mourning shall now begin.....
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Magic8 added 06:56 - Sep 2 If we kept all the players who displayed leadership and played well for us we would have e a team of geriatrics on the pitch..all teams evolve and change...players move for all manner of reasons....the problem is many of our fans cannot evolve or change...support those players that currently wear our shirt...support our clearly top coach...who I might add if he kept changing formation would be accused of not knowing his best team ..some have short memories on here...trust in those that are better qualified than most fans are...have an opinion of course...but please try and understand the wider narrative.

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bluewarrior added 07:12 - Sep 2 Sad because as fans we are a sentimental bunch but how about a little more faith in the club to make the right decisions based on what they know and see on a daily basis. There are so many factors at hand here that not one single one of us are aware of. I for one salute the club for being decisive, ambitious and brave. It’s called seeing the big picture whereas so many of the posters on here are looking down the wrong end of the proverbial telescope.

3

Billericay12 added 07:17 - Sep 2 Always sad to see a loyal servant to the club go and he did really well for us in league one and the Championship but we didn’t kick him out or treat him badly, he just wants regular football which is understandable at this stage of his career and he is unlikely to get it with us. Let’s also remember that the team that got promoted from League One were also a team of misfits for a while but look what they went on to achieve. We have to trust KM and MA. They have served us well and continue to do so. 3 draws and one defeat doesn’t mean they have lost the plot. Once again we have dug deep and spent a good few quid to try and bring us success. How many supporters of other clubs would swap places with us ???

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gosblue added 07:20 - Sep 2 Like so many of our squad, Chappers had lost his confidence on the Prem and hasn't looked like getting it back any time soon.we love Conor and this is a fantastic move for him personally and as a player. It is similar to the Nathan Broadhead situation. They don't appear to have been forced out and should get a massive reception when they come to PR.
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Len_Brennan added 07:26 - Sep 2 I'm old enough to have seen a very many of my Ipswich Town heroes move on from the club over 47 years, whether poached, discarded or mutually agreed, so the loss of the 'band of brothers' on an individual level, from the perspective of sentiment, doesn't really affect me the way it seems to for others. I can look at the look at the outgoings v the incomings, recognising our ambition & financial capacity and then satisfy myself in the knowledge that Dara O'Shea is a better option as a Premier League player than Luke Woolfenden & similarly Chuba Akpom has the ability to be top scorer in the Championship, has played for Ajax, Lille & PAOK, has impressive physicality & therefore should be a better fit than Conor Chaplin for a side expecting to get back to the PL But while these calls are indisputably true for most of us, the gaps aren't all that huge, and like with any new signings the jury will be out for a while. We gained a hard working goal threat in signing Sammy Szmodics last summer & we arguably made the PL signing of the summer when bringing in Liam Delap; he scored 12 league goals for us, which was phenomenal, while offering an outlet to knock the back long to when we were under pressure, due to his strength & battling qualities. And yet, there were frequent calls from fans (on here) for us to return to the Chaplin & Hirst partnership, as Szmodics & Delap, for all they brought, didn't have the fluid link up play with each other, & the other 'inferior' players such as Broadhead, Burns & even Marcus Harness, that had allowed us to sharply rip through opposition defences when we were at our flowing teamplay best. For me, that's what the 'band of brothers' grouping meang to the

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Len_Brennan added 07:29 - Sep 2 ... the team & will be missed, as it is so hard to recreate with a new bunch of players, after such a heavy turnover. Will new, more expensive, players coming in buy into the mentality that was so key to our success during the double promotion years? I really hope so.
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Bluemike31 added 07:40 - Sep 2 Right now I feel our couple of glory years are well and truly gone and we are kinda sinking backwards, we definitely have the players here now, but do we have the togetherness, the camaraderie and the band of Brothers mentality, hopefully it comes in time, and more so, do we have the right manager, god I hope so. And man how I wish we still had the glue that sticks it all together, Sam Morsy.

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tractorboybig added 08:11 - Sep 2 the trouble is we have rid of all those layers and replaced them with nothing better
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blueboy1981 added 08:15 - Sep 2 4 years left of a lucrative Premiership Contract in his Briefcase - Guess Who couldn’t Care Less ?? Who are the MUGS ??
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planetblue_2011 added 08:31 - Sep 2 Outrageous not happy with Chappers going & surely we need him out of everyone he’s mr 100%. He played on Saturday and played well. He’s a brilliant player my personal opinion. Hope it’s not a mistake which comes back to haunt us. Brilliant signing Pompey well done!
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chepstowblue added 08:36 - Sep 2 In football, people seem to think that to evolve you have to spend bucket loads of money. Our cheaply assembled 2023 side would comfortably beat the current side. In a desperate attempt to evolve, we've gone backwards. Spent millions, lost our identity, the feel good factor, and the extroadinary camaraderie bettered only by the Robson and Burley eras. I may be a dinosaur, but I'd sooner be that than a sheep who conforms to all the modern day b*ll*cks that blights this soulless sport. New players need to hit the ground running or we'll be going full circle and ending up back in league one. It could happen. I no longer trust the process.....it stinks.

3

chorltonskylineblue added 08:49 - Sep 2 I wasn't happy with this news, but like the Woolfy situation I understand it from the player's point of view. They both want to play regularly in the prime of their careers after proving themselves and more at this level. They didn't look out of place in a very tough Premier League to me, albeit we struggled as a team. I just hope the new signings are improvements. I worry we're replacing too many players at once (remember Paul Cook's demolition squad anyone?) and ripping the heart out of a very tight knit squad. I trust in McKenna but this really is gonna be a challenge for him this season.

0

atty added 09:00 - Sep 2 It’s difficult, if not impossible, to control,a situation where a player clearly wants leave. We all k ew Delap would go, and l think we all knew that Hutchinson would too.So we had seven players who wanted to go for one reason or another. I’m pretty sure there was no underlying reason that applied to all of them, eg, they didn’t feel comfortable at the Club anymore, were tired of KMcKs train in and tactics,or felt the Club was in decline. We then had Chappers and Wolfey wanting out for more game time.Fair enough but sad too. The Bomb Squad is now history, great history though which we will never forget. I believe that overall, Delap and another RB apart, we now have a better squad. Some great signings with great potential. It’s now up KMcK to build the team, those relationships/connections on the pitch, and for the players to get together and build up that essential comradeship, on and off the pitch. O’Shea has a job to do there. It’s now up to us to move on and really get behind them. COYB.

1

Phil1969 added 09:10 - Sep 2 Always sad to see a changing of the guard but as Wooflie Broadhead Ali Burgess etc not good enough for our journey and the 25 otherwise we wouldn’t have made additions everyone was crying out for!
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Bazza8564 added 09:12 - Sep 2 Wants to play football, was going to be 3rd choice at number 10 and chose to accept the opportunity to move on. I will miss him, great little player but the club don't want another PL disaster next time up and have invested heavily to achieve it. Sadly the comments on here are, as usual, totally sentimental and in direct contradiction of what being said a week ago. "come on Ashton" Tuesday. By saturday, "wow Ashtons delivered 4 new players, Brilliant". Well that comes with a price. Can't have it both ways

2

Broganonthewing added 09:18 - Sep 2 Why all the doom and gloom? We have only played 4 games for goodness sake! Remember the run in when we were promoted from Div. 1, with 33 points still to play for, we hit a sticky patch and the doom mongers were demanding Kieran be sacked and that we would struggle to make the playoffs. Sorry to see Chaplin go, he has served us well and is obviously a good bloke, however give the new guys a chance, lets have a serious discussion a few more games down the road!

2

Lightningboy added 09:56 - Sep 2 Ad this awful dream last night that we'd let go of Woolfie & Chapl..... Oh. Shame what football has become these days,every club striving to buy themselves into the most overrated league in the world - whatever the cost.
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Writtleblue added 10:03 - Sep 2 Never forget the sheer joy on Chappers face when he scored, sad to see him go.
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pensionerblue added 10:58 - Sep 2 I too am disappointed that Chappers has departed, at the moment just on loan, but let us not forget that when we were in the Premiership last season there were frequent posts pointing to the fact that the squad and players were not good enough and that we needed to find replacements in almost nearly every position. Apart from centre defence have we not done that? We need to trust in the management and give all the latest additions time to settle in. It might take time and for a while the results may be disappointing but we have to be patient and believe that we will get there.

2

Marinersnose added 11:01 - Sep 2 Very pleased that Chaplin has got a good move to his home club. Chaplin has been a top player until the end but many fans could see that his game time was going to be limited once Akpom was signed. I’ve always felt McKenna didn’t fully trust Chaplin as he was used very occasionally in the PL. Another Broadhead situation where for the fans he produced the goods but wasn’t nailed on to start. Good luck Chappers. Excellent professional

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filobiz added 11:19 - Sep 2 ...that 'switch' pass to leif against coventry in 2022 "goal of the season" - that is superb footballing IQ and vision. sad loss. hope he comes back!
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