Sammie Szmodics pens emotional Blackburn Rovers message after Ipswich Town move | OneFootball

Szmodics has finally completed his move to Portman Road.

Sammie Szmodics has officially left Blackburn Rovers to join Ipswich Town, and he has sent a heartfelt message to the Blackburn supporters.

Reports on Thursday night stated that Ipswich, who had been working on this for a while, had come to an agreement with Rovers over a deal for Szmodics.

The Lancashire Telegraph said that John Eustace's side will pay £10 million for the Irish international, who led the Championship for goals last season with 27. His price point was initially set at £20 million by Blackburn, according to EADT.

Nick Mashiter of the BBC stated that Town would be unwilling to pay an inflated fee for Szmodics.

Negotiations over the move had dragged on for close to a month, with Ipswich, at one point, becoming annoyed at the length of time the negotiations were taking.

The switch has finally been sealed, with the 28-year-old's desire to play in the Premier League being met.

Sammie Szmodics' emotional message to Blackburn supporters

It didn't always look like Szmodics was going to leave, with reports suggesting that Rovers were keen on tying him down to a new lucrative deal. But his performances from last season were always going to attract heavy attention, making it difficult to keep him.

He's now finally gone, and, in leaving, he has sent a message to the fans at Ewood Park who so adored him.

He said, on Instagram: "To Blackburn Rovers. I just wanna start by saying thank you for welcoming me and my family to this amazing club. We've had some great times and some lows, but overall I've thoroughly enjoyed my two years at the club. I've met some great people and made friends for life.

"To the fans, thank you for supporting me throughout. The reception you gave me against Derby County will live long in the memory & I hope I've made a positive impact on your Rovers following.

"I wanna wish everyone all the best for the upcoming season & I hope one day our paths will cross again.

"All the best, Szmods 💙."

Selling Szmodics was the sad but smart thing to do

It's always tough to see your best player go, especially when it looked like there could be a way forward with them.

Szmodics leaves a hole in the team that will leave Blackburn wondering how they can fill it. 27 goals is hard to find, and even tougher to lose, but they probably made the right decision.

That last campaign was a bit of an aberration compared to his usual standards. He looked to have started this season well, but there was no guarantee that he would be able to reach those heights again.

With the money that they receive from Ipswich, 10% of which will go to Peterborough United, they can do a bit of Billy Beane, Moneyball tactics and try to recreate his value across the pitch.

That sort of money can be used very effectively to bolster this side in positions which most need it, rather than looking to directly replace Szmodics with the money that they have.

Even if it's £9 million extra that they have to spend, that could get them four or five very good players.