Ipswich Town’s five most expensive sales include Premier League winner and 33-cap England international

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Ipswich Town are gearing up for a season where they mount a promotion push to return to the Premier League following their relegation last campaign.

The Tractor Boys seemingly did their business for this Championship campaign last year ahead of their Premier League season, as they acquired some of the best talent in the second flight of English football, knowing if they did face the drop, several would stay and be among the top individuals to return them to the highest division.

Ipswich have had to bid farewell to Liam Delap, who has moved to Chelsea, while the deal for Omari Hutchinson to head to Brentford fell through for financial reasons.

Meanwhile, the club could welcome Ashley Young to Portman Road in the near future, bringing experience to help in their promotion push.

The club appears to have the money to do so with the fee received for Delap putting them in a healthy position; however, is it the record fee the club have ever received?

EFL Analysis looks at the five most expensive sales the club have ever made, according to Transfermarkt.

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5. Kieron Dyer – £7.8 million

Kicking off this list is homegrown talent in Kieron Dyer, as the midfielder was born and raised in Ipswich and played three seasons of professional football with the club.

Dyer had impressed early in his career with Ipswich, making a total of 113 appearances in his first spell, scoring 12 goals.

This earned him a move to Newcastle United, who were busy fighting for silverware and near the top of the Premier League throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, with Dyer moving to the club in July 1999.

Dyer spent the majority of his career with Newcastle, as he played at St. James’ Park for eight seasons, making a total of 250 appearances before moving to West Ham.

4. Richard Wright – £7.8 million

Another homegrown player on the list, as Richard Wright also came through the Ipswich Town academy at a similar time to Dyer, demonstrating the talent that existed in that part of England, particularly in this period.

Wright had impressed at Ipswich initially in the Championship before the club earned promotion to the Premier League, with the goalkeeper starring for the club that 2001/02 season.

This earned him a big money move to Arsenal, who were battling Manchester United for titles at that time.

Wright struggled to establish himself in London and so moved to Everton after just a season.

He would return to Ipswich on two further occasions in his career, with his last competitive performance coming for the club before he opted to become the reserve goalkeeper at Manchester City for four seasons, lifting countless pieces of silverware.

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3. Connor Wickham – £7.8 million

Another player on this list to make his senior debut at the club; however, unlike the previous two, Connor Wickham was signed by Ipswich at youth level from Reading.

Wickham would play across three seasons of football at Ipswich, and in this final season at the club, he became one of the hottest prospects in English football, having impressed at the underage level for England.

Sunderland would spend heavily to bring him into the club, with Wickham becoming a cult hero to many in the northeast due to the part he played in saving them from relegation one season, despite his spell not being a huge success overall.

Since leaving Ipswich, Wickham has been a player who has moved around the EFL, playing for the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Preston North End, and Cardiff City.

2. Tyrone Mings – £9.8 million

Tyrone Mings began his career in the lower levels of English football at Yate Town and Chippenham Town, having been released by Southampton at youth level.

He would sign for Ipswich Town in 2012 for a fee of £10,000, and he would spend three seasons at the club, slowly building up his appearances year upon year.

In his third season he shone at left back, earning a move to Bournemouth after Eddie Howe had earned promotion to the Premier League with the Cherries.

Mings never repaid the £9.8 million fee Bournemouth paid for him as he struggled to make an impact; however, he has since moved to Aston Villa and has earned England caps since this decision to join the Birmingham-based side.

1. Liam Delap – £30 million

The most expensive sale Ipswich have ever made is Liam Delap when they sold the striker to Chelsea in the summer of 2025.

Delap impressed in his one and only season at Ipswich Town in the Premier League, finishing as their top goal scorer that season with a total of 12 goals in the English top flight.

Chelsea splashed the cash to bring the English striker to the club, meeting the relegation clause in his contract.

Delap will be a hard player to replace for the Tractor Boys, but they will feel the £30 million they received will help them to do so.