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Ipswich Town have completed a deal to sign Irish international Stephen Gleeson on a free transfer from Birmingham City.
The 29-year-old has departed St. Andrew’s after a three-and-a-half-year stint with the Championship club, who decided not to request a fee as his contract was due to expire at the end of the season.
✍️ | #itfc have signed midfielder @gleeson_stephen from Birmingham City on a deal until the end of the season
? https://t.co/srvsavUAA2 pic.twitter.com/zBKKx2Shb5
— Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) January 19, 2018
That said, the move to take Gleeson to Portman Road will also only be on a short-term basis, for the time being at least. The midfielder has signed a contract with Ipswich until the end of the season, though that will likely be revisited in the summer if he performs well enough for the Tractor Boys.
The transfer sees Gleeson reunited with manager Mick McCarthy, who gave the Dubliner his first taste of senior Championship football when the pair were together at Wolves over a decade ago. They won’t have to wait long to resume their working relationship as Gleeson is set to go straight into the squad for this weekend’s clash against Bolton Wanderers.
On the international front, meanwhile, Gleeson will be hoping that increased playing time will see him continue his progress with the Ireland national team. He has made four appearances for the Boys in Green – scoring his first goal in the 3-1 defeat to Mexico back in June – and will be desperate to add to his caps tally in 2018.
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In our first Mixer Irish Football Podcast of 2018, we discuss Martin O’Neill’s rejection of the Stoke job and what that means for his Ireland role, a new era at Limerick and all of the latest League of Ireland transfer news.
