Town have announced the names of the nine full-time first-year scholars being taken on for the 2006/07 season. TWTD has already revealed the identities of eight of the new recruits.

The most familiar names are those of midfielder Ed Upson, scorer of the winning goal in last season's FA Youth Cup final second leg, and Jordan Rhodes, the son of goalkeeping-coach Andy, who has scored 34 goals at U16 and U18 levels this season.

Upson is an England U17 international, while Rhodes has been on England training camps.

Town fought off interest from Championship winners Reading for the signature of striker Viktor Unnar Illugason. An Iceland U17 international, Illugason is already playing first team football for hometown club Breidablik and scored both goals in a 2-1 win over another Icelandic side Vikingur Olafsvik in a pre-season game in Spain on Tuesday.

Andrew Plummer is a keeper from Finningham, while Jai Reason is a midfielder from Benfleet who, like Rhodes and Upson, was watched by Chelsea scouts earlier in the season.

Kurt Robinson is an England U17 international full-back who has been on the bench for the reserves this season.

New Zealander Tommy Smith, a left-sided central defender, has spent time at Portman Road during his school holidays in recent years.

Smith, whose family originally hail from the UK, was the star performer for the New Zealand secondary schools team on tours of Canada and Australia last year and won the soccer title at the 2005 Counties Manukau Sporting Excellence Awards, amongst the top honours in New Zealand schools sport.

Midfielder or central defender Curtley Williams is from Needham Market and came to the club via the Bury St Edmunds Development Centre. Another midfielder, Nathan Tooms, is from Grays in Essex.

The youngsters will be formally inducted into the academy today.

TWTD understands that Scottish central defender Paul Watson, currently 15, will join-up with the academy later on in the season.

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