Atherton joins Ipswich Town from Chelsea
Atherton joins Ipswich Town from Chelsea
Fri, July 17, 2026 at 7:02 PM UTC
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Ipswich Town have confirmed the signing of 17-year-old midfielder Chris Atherton from Premier League rivals Chelsea.
The Republic of Ireland youth international moved to Stamford Bridge last summer, having made 32 senior appearances for then Irish Premiership side Glenavon.
He signed a professional contract in October and was a regular in Chelsea's U17 and U18 sides.
Atherton made history during his time at the Lurgan Blues in September 2022 when he became the youngest senior footballer in the United Kingdom at 13 years and 329 days old.
In February, it was revealed that the then Chelsea academy player had switched his international allegiance from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland.
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The teenager had previously represented Northern Ireland at Under-16 and Under-17 level and scored one international goal.
"I'm delighted to be here and can't wait to get started," said Atherton.
"I hope to offer a lot of creativity and attacking threat going forward and obviously working as hard as possible to get better every day."
Ipswich's Academy Manager Ben Chenery added: "We are extremely pleased to announce the signing of Chris Atherton from Chelsea.
"Chris is an exciting attacking player we believe possesses big potential which we look forward to continuing to develop through the next stage of his career."
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