Blues chairman and CEO Mark Ashton has revealed that the club is close to confirming significant investment into Ipswich Town Women.

A brilliant second half of the season secured WSL2 status for a second year for Town Women with interim-manager David Wright, who took charge in January, subsequently handed the role on a permanent basis.

And this summer looks set to see the women’s side of the club continuing to push on with new money set to come in.

“There’ll be announcements around that imminently which will see further investment into the women’s team as we want to progress,” Ashton told TWTD.

“I think ultimately we had an incredible second half of the season last year, you saw the changes that the new technical director [Sean Burt] made, the change of manager made, the input of eight or nine new players [in January] and we want to progress.

“There will be some very interesting announcements imminently around that.”

We understand the money coming in is from US investors not linked to the wider ownership, however, Ashton wouldn’t be drawn.

“There’ll be investment coming in,” he said. “There will be more finances made available to the women from a number of parties.

“It’s the next step in our investment for the women’s game, it will be across the board.”

But despite the incoming investment, Ashton says the club will be in no rush to reach the WSL, the top division of women’s football.

“Not imminently,” he said. “We don’t do that - progression, progression, progression. And if we keep progressing each season, ultimately, the same as the men’s, we’ll get to where we want to get to.

“But at the moment, it’s about building stability in WSL2 and being more competitive in WSL2 and building the infrastructure behind the women’s team.”

It’s also anticipated that Town Women will play more than just one game at Portman Road in the season ahead with the pitch hosting fewer men’s team’s games in the Premier League compared to the Championship.

Photo: ITFC/Matchday Images