Olayinka Ladapo, a former Blues striker, has been confirmed by Huddersfield Town as their new signing on a two-year deal.
Ladapo, who is 31 years old, left Portman Road on the final day of the summer transfer window after his contract was terminated with mutual agreement.
“I’m really happy to be here, and excited to get started and contribute to the challenge ahead,” he told the Terriers club site.
“As a free agent, you have a choice to make, but luckily for me mine wasn’t a hard one once I knew how serious the interest was from Town.
“From the very beginning, the talks with [sporting director] Mark Cartwright and [manager] Michael Duff couldn’t have been more positive.
“The size and ambition of the club is really appealing to me, and reminds me of joining Ipswich Town in the same league.
“I’ve had a really good pre-season and feel great, so I just want to show the best version of myself in training and then in games for supporters, too.
“Having played here before, I know the atmosphere the home fans can create, so I’m looking forward to experiencing that.
“We have a squad I’m delighted to be part of with a healthy competition for places within our forwards and across the pitch.
“I know this division and what it takes to get out of it, and I love that we haven’t been shy about admitting that’s exactly what our collective ambition is. My job is to now play a role in that.”
Duff said: “With our numbers in attack limited through suspension and injury, Freddie’s arrival comes at a very important time for us and I’m really happy to have him.
“Our fixture list isn’t getting any kinder or quieter, and with a number of matches coming up against sides around us in the table, adding proven quality is never going to hurt.
“A player who has been promoted from League One three times already and been in a winning environment at other ambitious clubs, his record speaks for itself and he arrives knowing what it takes to thrive at this level and finish the season where you aspire to.
“We’re looking forward to getting Freddie involved in training alongside his new teammates right away, and we have another important fixture this weekend that I’m sure he’ll want to put himself in consideration for.”
Cartwright added: “Freddie is a player we have been monitoring all summer, and once his contractual status with Ipswich Town was concluded, we acted swiftly to bring him to the Club.
“Having been aware of Freddie’s circumstances and likelihood of becoming a free agent, we had the ability to not rush our approach under the constraints of the transfer window, but with the timing now right we couldn’t be happier to have him join.
“He has a natural ability and physical attributes we find especially exciting, as he’s a different profile of forward than we currently have available to us.
“Having thrived in a winning team at this level previously and maintaining that same level of ambition, his character was also a factor we believed to be a good addition to our dressing room.”
Ladapo, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Charlton, joined the Blues after leaving Rotherham in the summer of 2021 and the Romford-born striker went on to make 33 starts and 42 sub appearances, scoring 25 goals as he played a part in Town’s back-to-back promotions.
