Ipswich Town winger Matt Ward believes Derry City loan is his best career move

​The 19 year-old Milton-Keynes native insists he had no reservations when offered the chance to move to the North West of Ireland and to a foreign league he admittedly knew nothing about.

"I'm really excited and everything is going really well so far," he said. "To be honest the standard is far better than I imagined.

"The lads have all been really great and so settling in has been really easy. There's obviously really good chemistry in the squad which makes things easier.

"I literally didn't know anything about the league to be honest," he admitted. "It was only the last month I've really dug in and researched a lot of it. I think the league is really on the come up in terms of exposure and quality. So it's really good."

When Derry made an approach, Ward was quick to make up his mind when discussing his options with some of the Ipswich staff.

“They (coaching staff) were telling me I need to get out on loan, looking out for my best interests. When the Derry offer came through I didn't know much about the league and was asking questions but literally every single person I spoke to told me it was a great move.”

Uprooting from his home in England was never going to be an issue having spent most of his childhood travelling the world with his parents as the youngest of four children and the only son.

His dad worked for General Motors and was based in Budapest, Hungary when Ward was four years-old. They moved to Frankfurt in Germany and finally to Shanghai, China before his recent retirement, meaning the pacey winger's football upbringing took an unconventional route.

Realising the best chance of fulfilling his dream of becoming a professional footballer would require him to return to England, he enrolled in a boarding school in Norwich when he was 16 and a year later he signed his first professional contract with Ipswich Town.

It has been a whirlwind couple of years for the teenager who made his first team debut for the Tractor Boys in a 4-0 FA Cup second round win over Buxton last November. Now he's hoping his initial six month loan spell with the Candy Stripes can give his career another boost in the right direction.

"I've moved around quite a bit in my life," he explained. "I'm quite used to moving. I was actually in boarding school while my parents went to China. I realised if I wanted to play football seriously I needed to move back to England.

"I was in boarding school in Norwich so in terms of being away from home it's actually alright. And the boys being the way they are makes it so much easier.

"Obviously I played football but never at a really competitive level. I was never in an academy or anything like that.

"I came to England. I played semi-pro for a few months, got picked up by Cambridge and then played Ipswich in a trial match and got picked up by Ipswich and they offered me a pro contract straight away."

Having played U23 football for most of the 2022/23 season, Ward is 'excited' to get some first team football at Derry and he's loved his first taste of action when scoring a goal against Institute in preseason before playing in front of a full house in the President's Cup win on Friday night as a late substitute.

"The fans are absolutely incredible, they're so passionate. I saw a few flares there as well which was amazing. When I arrived I could see everyone in their Derry kit and wearing Derry hats.

"Even before I came I was well aware of the aspirations of the club. I was told, 'we want to win the league this year'. 'We want to do this and that' and it's something that made me come here even more."

Ward’s arrival will give City boss Ruaidhri Higgins plenty of options in the wide positions with Michael Duffy, Ryan Graydon and Ben Doherty all providing healthy competition.

"He's a really promising young player that Ipswich think very highly of,” said Higgins. “His approach is very positive and his first thought is causing problems for the opposition.”

Derry fans have already witnessed his blistering pace and attacking intent when on the ball and he’s hoping to chip in with plenty of assists and goals when given the chance.

"A lot of my game I try to get the fans up off their seats,” said Ward. “Obviously the main goal is to get goals and assists and help the team but I would say I'm quite an exciting player in terms of going forward.

"I'm very comfortable on both wings. For Ipswich U23s this season I've been playing as a right winger but I can play on the left and can go in a two up top with a strike partner which I've done as well.”

Ipswich have the option of extending his contract to 2024 and Ward is hoping his loan spell at Derry will prove fruitful for all parties.

He’s hoping he can make an early impression and help City get off to a winning start in the league against St Pat’s on Friday and he insists the team are fully focussed on that opening clash.

"The Presidents Cup was obviously a big test but this is the real deal. Obviously I got a little bit of a taste of the standard, the fans and every single aspect but the boys are really motivated and focussed on this match. We're training hard so it will be a really good game.

“My main goal was always to come here and play as much as I can, get the minutes in and goal contributions, assists and obviously helping the team as much as I can to win stuff."