Sam Stringer reports as the highly-rated starlet departs…
Colchester United fans were been dealt a big blow in early Friday afternoon as main man Freddie Sears signed a two-and-a-half year contract with local rivals and Premier League-chasing Ipswich Town.
The transfer fee for Colchester’s top scorer remains undisclosed, but chairman Robbie Cowling felt it necessary to cash in on 25-year-old Sears whose contract was due to expire in the summer.
It had been Sears’ most prolific season in a Colchester United shirt with 14 goals in all competitions across 29 appearances, having previously scored 22 in 80 over his career in North Essex.
A pacy forward, Sears has the ability to play anywhere across the front line, whilst also capable of playing behind another striker with a decent range of passes and playmaking abilities.
This season has also showcased an impressive array of goals by Sears, with a mixture of poacher’s goals, penalties and long ranged efforts, the latter being a common tendency of his.
It’s questionable whether Sears will suit Mick McCarthy’s style of functional and direct style of play at Portman Road, opposed to Colchester’s more expressive and open style, but a good career mode nonetheless.
Since joining from West Ham in 2012 Freddie had cemented his place in the team and as a fan favourite, but his feats this season are on course to send him back to the Premier League if Ipswich can maintain their form.
The signing will take some of the weight off of Daryl Murphy, who currently leads the Championship for goals with 17 to his name at the season’s mid-point.
For Colchester on the other hand it could prove extremely costly, with second-choice striker Rhys Healey only netting four times this season and third choice Macauley Bonne largely untested in League One.
Experienced striker Jabo Ibehre has returned from his loan spell at Oldham Athletic, but it’s unclear whether Tony Humes has any intention on putting Ibehre back in his first-team plans.