Portsmouth seal sensational Fratton Park return for Ipswich Town striker as transfer window reaches climax
Conor Chaplin came through the ranks at Fratton Park before going on to appear 122 times for Pompey.
Pompey have completed the sensational move for Conor Chaplin.
The Blues have unveiled the 28-year-old as their newest summer acquisition after a deadline day full of drama at Fratton Park.
John Mousinho’s men have secured the forward on a season-long loan deal from Ipswich Town having been given the green light to depart Portman Road before the close of the window.
Chaplin returns to his boy-hood club after a six-and-a-half-year absence having departed on a permanent basis in January 2019.
And it represents an emotional homecoming for the talented forward, who rose through the ranks at PO4 before amassing 122 first-team appearances for the Blues.
After making his senior debut against Morecambe in 2014, the ex-Barnsley man netted 25 goals and registered seven assists in all competitions, while also playing a key role under Paul Cook in the 2016-17 League Two title-winning campaign.
After spells with Coventry City and Barnsley, Chaplin made the move to Ipswich in 2021 and would be a main stay in Kieran McKenna’s side, who won back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.
The playmaker netted 55 goals and registered 18 assists in 174 appearances in all competitions for the Tractor Boys, who hold a January recall option in his loan deal.
Although he had featured in all five of Ipswich’s fixtures so far this term, McKenna looked to trim his squad to meet the EFL’s 25-man squad limit. Chaplin is entering the final 12 months of his current deal in Suffolk.
Pompey’s hectic transfer deadline day
He becomes the latest addition in what has been a hectic transfer deadline day at Fratton Park.
Chaplin joins goalkeeper Josef Bursik, striker Makenzie Kirk and winger Franco Umeh through the doors on the final day of the window, while Abdoulaye Kamara completed a free-transfer switch to German third-tier side Saarbrucken and Tom McIntyre sealed a loan switch to Bradford City.
With the Blues now out of action due to an international break, Pompey fans’ first chance to see Chaplin in action could be against Southampton at St Mary’s on September 14.
The forward becomes the 10 signing of the summer, making the move to the south coast alongside Adrian Segecic, Florian Bianchini, Minhyeok Yang, Kirk, Umeh, Bursik, John Swift, Mark Kosznovszky and Luke Le Roux.
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