Ed Sheeran has All of the Stars flocking to Portman Road, says Mark Ashton

Ipswich chairman and chief executive officer Mark Ashton has revealed that Ed Sheeran used his global stardom to play a part in the club’s summer transfer activity.

The 33-year-old singer-songwriter is a lifelong fan of the Tractor Boys and has been a shirt sponsor for both the men’s and women’s teams since 2021 before acquiring a minority stake in the club in August.

However, Sheeran has also found a new role at Ipswich, with Ashton revealing he helped with the recruitment of one player after hopping on a Zoom call with the potential signing.

“A local man, global superstar, sponsor of the football club, now a shareholder and now officially part of our recruitment team,” Ashton said at a Soccerex event as broadcast by Sky Sports News.

“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.”

Asked if the player in question was doing okay for Ipswich, Ashton replied: “Certainly scoring a few goals!”

Sheeran was in the crowd as the Tractor Boys secured their first Premier League win of the season at Tottenham last time out and they now face Manchester United on Sunday.