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Ipswich Town have confirmed their squad numbers for the upcoming Championship season, with Ed Sheeran being a noticeable addition.
The singer, Ipswich Town fan and shareholder in the club, has been awarded the number 17 jersey for the upcoming season.
Ed Sheeran is not another signing through the door at Portman Road, as they attempt to secure the signature of Chuba Akpom from Ajax.
So, Sheeran will not be making any appearances for Ipswich Town this season; this is just an honorary squad number for the ‘Shape of You’ singer.
While there have been questions around the decision to award a squad number to Sheeran, Ipswich Town are not the first club to have done this in the EFL.
- READ MORE: Ipswich Town star points to the ‘pivotal’ advantage they have in the Championship promotion race
Doncaster Rovers signed Louis Tomlinson
Doncaster Rovers are set to compete in League One this season after they earned promotion from League Two in the last campaign.
The club appear to now be trendsetters after Ipswich have copied their move to award a squad number to a famous fan ahead of an EFL campaign.
In a similar fashion, Doncaster Rovers gave Louis Tomlinson, of One Direction fame, a squad number ahead of a campaign in August 2013.
However, there was one difference in the fact that Doncaster technically signed Tomlinson, who was a huge supporter of his local club, as a non-contract player.
It could be argued that both the move by Ipswich and Doncaster to sign pop stars were just moves for momentary attention in the media ahead of their respective EFL campaigns in 2025 and 2013.
Could this spark a trend for celebrity fans?
This was the debate between Jeff Stelling and Andy Townsend on TalkSport yesterday morning.
The pair discussed whether this should become a trend for celebrities to get squad numbers moving forward for the clubs they support, using Prince William getting the number nine jersey at Aston Villa as an example.
The conversation between the pair appeared to be mocking the decision taken by Ipswich Town to give Ed Sheeran the number 17.
Listeners to the programme did not appear to be supportive of the idea; however, the pair encouraged the debate further by seeing if fans of clubs would want to see a celebrity fan be given honorary squad numbers.