Ipswich sign Michael Chopra from Cardiff

Ipswich Town have completed a deal for Cardiff striker Michael Chopra in a move believed to be worth £1.5m.

The 27-year-old has agreed a three-year contract at Portman Road after a season hampered by fitness and form issues.

Chopra was in and out of the Cardiff team during the 2010/2011 campaign but still managed 11 goals in 37 games.

"I enjoyed my time at Cardiff but this is a new start for me and I'm looking forward to it," he told the Ipswich official website.

"I spoke to the manager and was impressed with his plans for the club.

"I know some of the players here as well and from talking to them, it was clear there is real ambition at Ipswich.

"I can't wait to get going and the target is to help the club reach the Premier League."

The switch brings to an end Chopra's second spell in the Welsh capital, having initially joined the Bluebirds from Newcastle in 2006.

A haul of 22 goals in 44 games attracted the attention of former Ipswich boss Roy Keane, then manager of Sunderland, who signed the forward for £5m in July 2007.

He was back in a Cardiff shirt 16 months later, on loan at first, and completed a £4m return in the summer of 2009 after managing just eight goals in 22 Premier League starts for the Black Cats.

"Michael is a top quality striker with a proven track record when it comes to scoring goals," added Town boss Paul Jewell.

"He is just the type of player we are looking for to help take this club forward."

Cardiff are in deep doo doo now, how many people are on their books

They have lost some of their best players now. Bothroyd, Burke and Chopra. I can see Wittingham leaving as well.

They don't have Bellamy anymore either.

£1.5 million does not seem like a lot of money, are Cardiff in money trouble?

Cardiff have always been in money trouble and the only reason they've stayed above board for the past few season was a new Malaysian owner. The worrying thing is he may leave after failing to reach the Premiership. They've spent out of their means hoping to get up and its failed. With no manager they wont be attracting any new players any time soon, may be the end of Cardiff as a play-off threat.

Not in too much of a money problem at the moment, there is debt from the Sam Hammam days but the legality of that is looking more doubtful as time goes on!

We didn't overspend last year, very little on fees and having so many loan players would have helped keep the wage bill manageable (alongside the extra income from having Bellamy)

I think we will struggle to reach the playoffs this season with the massive rebuild needed, but I'm not worried about the Malaysians leaving. They appear to be here for the long haul, but who can tell?

Enforcer wrote:Not in too much of a money problem at the moment, there is debt from the Sam Hammam days but the legality of that is looking more doubtful as time goes on!

We didn't overspend last year, very little on fees and having so many loan players would have helped keep the wage bill manageable (alongside the extra income from having Bellamy)

I think we will struggle to reach the playoffs this season with the massive rebuild needed, but I'm not worried about the Malaysians leaving. They appear to be here for the long haul, but who can tell?

Its probably got something to do with the fact that Championship clubs TV revenue is set to drop by 25%.
Hope this signing paves the way for Conor Whickham moving to Anfield.

It'll be strange for the fans next year, all the creative flair and sparkle is gone except Whittingham whn may be the next to go

braveheart101 wrote:

Enforcer wrote:Not in too much of a money problem at the moment, there is debt from the Sam Hammam days but the legality of that is looking more doubtful as time goes on!

We didn't overspend last year, very little on fees and having so many loan players would have helped keep the wage bill manageable (alongside the extra income from having Bellamy)

I think we will struggle to reach the playoffs this season with the massive rebuild needed, but I'm not worried about the Malaysians leaving. They appear to be here for the long haul, but who can tell?

Its probably got something to do with the fact that Championship clubs TV revenue is set to drop by 25%.
Hope this signing paves the way for Conor Whickham moving to Anfield.

I don't think that Wickham will leave this season. If Ipswich do not go up then he will leave 100%

WickhamWonderland wrote:

braveheart101 wrote:Its probably got something to do with the fact that Championship clubs TV revenue is set to drop by 25%.
Hope this signing paves the way for Conor Whickham moving to Anfield.

I don't think that Wickham will leave this season. If Ipswich do not go up then he will leave 100%

First things first, Connor Wickham will not go to Liverpool unless considerably over £10M is offered. This is likely to include a loan deal back to Ipswich for the first season as Wickham will not get straight into the Liverpool first team and will be losing vital game time.

Liverpool is the likely destination as this is his boyhood supported club but the right amount of money has to be offered.

The only place where he is likely to get regular football for the next few seasons is at Ipswich. He is not the finished article yet and still needs to be nurtured to learn all sides of the game.

Providing Ipswich do not have another mid-table season and make a clear play-off challenge, regardless of promotion or not, I can see no reason why Wickham wont be at Ipswich for the following season.