' I wanted to be here'- released Town star signs for newly promoted Championship side

Released Ipswich Town forward Kayden Jackson has joined Derby County on a two-year deal.

The 30-year-old departed the Blues at the end of the season after six seasons at Portman Road, with his contract expiring at the end of June.

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Jackson now joins Paul Warne's side, who ended their two-year stay in the third tier after they won automatic promotion the Championship last season.

On signing for Derby, he said: "It hasn’t really sunk in yet, to be honest. It feels like an age since we started discussions and as soon as I came here, saw the place and got a feel for the club, I knew it was somewhere that I wanted to be."

The Rams' boss has been long-time admirer of Jackson having tried to sign him on a number of occasions while he was manager of Rotherham United.

Jackson said: “I met the boss [Paul Warne] six or seven years ago and we’ve always kept in touch and congratulated each other when we’ve had success.

“It’s been a long time coming. He reached out when I left Ipswich and from then it was a case of: 'let’s get it done’.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations over the last three or four weeks but it’s always good speaking to him. As soon as I did the first time, I knew I wanted to be here.”

Kayden Jackson celebrates with Mark Ashton as Ipswich Town won promotion to the Premier League. (Image: PA)

Jackson joined the Blues from Accrington Stanley for £1.6 million under Paul Hurst in the summer of 2018 and had a rollercoaster journey during his time at the club, but was part of the squad that won back-to-back promotions to the Premier League.

Overall, he scored 28 goals in 199 games for the club and regarding his time at Town, he added: “It didn’t really sink in that I’d left there until a week or two ago. I’d been there for six years so it felt like all I really knew.

“It was the right time to move on, though, for my career and for the club side of things as well.

“It was good that this deal could get sorted so quickly and to have somewhere to come to like this, leaving Ipswich to come to somewhere with as good facilities, if not better, is something I’m really excited about.”

At Pride Park, he will link-up with former Town team-mate Callum Alder, who joined Derby last summer.