ED SHEERAN stepped in to help Ipswich secure a major transfer just moments before going on stage with Taylor Swift, it has been revealed.
Ipswich chairman and CEO Mark Ashton has lifted the lid on how the club’s most famous fan also played a key part in their recruitment team over the summer.
The Tractor Boys earned promotion to the Premier League for this season for the first time since 2002 under Kieran McKenna, but knew they needed reinforcements if they hoped to avoid relegation.
Sheeran was already a major investor in the club, but received a call moments before he was due to go on stage at a Swift concert to help finalise a huge transfer.
Speaking at a Soccerex event broadcast by Sky Sports, Ashton said: “A local man, global superstar, sponsor of the football club, now a shareholder and now officially part of our recruitment team.
“In the summer we were trying to persuade one particular player to join the football club and realised very quickly that he was an Ed Sheeran fan.
“Ed jumped on a Zoom call with him at the training ground just before he stepped on stage with Taylor Swift, hopefully that was a key part of getting the player across the line.
“We’ve gone from the third tier of English football to the Premier League, but we haven’t forgotten our roots and Ed’s a key part of that, the work that we do in our local communities is central to us.”
Sheeran stepped on stage to huge applause from the 92,000-strong crowd with Swift as she kicked off the final part of the European leg of the Eras Tour in London.
Without outright saying who the player was, Ashton was asked how the star was doing for them.
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He replied: “Certainly scoring a few goals!”
This could open the door for it to be former Manchester City ace Liam Delap, who is the club’s top goalscorer this season with six in all competitions including the winner against Tottenham.
However, the 21-year-old signed for the club on July 13, putting his transfer ahead of Sheeran’s appearance at the Eras Tour.
Another player it could be is last season’s Championship top scorer Sammie Szmodics, who officially signed on August 16.
Szmodics, 29, is the club’s second top goalscorer this season with three goals, including an overhead kick goal in their recent 2-1 win against Tottenham.
Sheeran was present at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when for the game, which saw Ipswich score twice before half-time.
Szmodics and Sheeran were seen posing for a photo together after the game, while the Irishman also follows the musician on Instagram while England Under-21 star Delap does not.
Some evidence points towards the mystery player being Szmodics.
But SunSport understands the player Sheeran went on a Zoom call with was Delap, who signed in a deal worth up to £20million.
Regardless, if the ace can keep scoring then Sheeran will probably want the club to sign more of his superfans.
Ipswich’s next game sees them host Manchester United in Ruben Amorim‘s first game in England.
McKenna’s side sit one point above the relegation zone with one win, five draws and five defeats from 11 games.
