Ipswich Town snap up Cieran Slicker from Manchester City

Ipswich Town have announced the acquisition of young goalkeeper Cieran Slicker from European champions Manchester City.

The undisclosed fee has seen the 20-year-old Scotland Under 21 international move to Portman Road, signing a three-year contract.

Coming from City's youth system, Slicker has had previous appearances on the bench during Premier League and Champions League matches. The player also spent time on loan at Rochdale, making three appearances for the first team in the first half of last season.

After signing for Town, an elated Slicker stated, “I’m buzzing to be here because this is a great opportunity for me at an amazing club.”

He acknowledged the difficulty in leaving Manchester City, a club he has been with for 13 years, but believes it's the right move for his career.

Highlighting his anticipation to work with Rene Gilmartin, Town’s Head of Goalkeeping, Slicker said, "I have been speaking to Reg and I can’t wait to get started with him. He’s worked with goalkeepers I’ve played with previously and everyone has spoken very highly of him."

Slicker also pointed out that Ipswich's style of play was a major factor in his decision, stating, "Everyone I know who played in League One last season said Ipswich were the best team by a mile... In some ways it’s similar to the way City play so that is really big for me."

On the prospect of working with Christian Walton, Slicker shared, "Working with Ederson, Scott (Carson) and Zak (Steffen) at City has been a brilliant experience for me and working with Christian is going to be the same... I want to learn as much as I can from him because he sets the standards I want to reach.”

Rene Gilmartin expressed his excitement over Slicker's arrival, stating, “Cieran is a highly regarded and highly recommended goalkeeper... He’s the kind of high-level goalkeeper we are looking to bring to the club and we’re delighted to have him.”

Gilmartin emphasized the strength of the goalkeeping department at Ipswich Town and expressed confidence that Slicker's addition would "keep the levels really high."

He further added, "He comes from a big club in Manchester City and has been on the bench for them before while also featuring in their Champions League squads, so he’s been around the senior game for a while."

Slicker is set to join Ipswich Town's first-team squad in Austria on Sunday, engaging in a week of training followed by pre-season friendlies against Spartak Trnava and Flyeralarm Admira.