Ipswich Town will see goalkeeper Nick Hayes move on at the end of his contract, and it has now been confirmed he’ll be joining Barnet.

The Tractor Boys finished 2nd in the Championship behind league winners Leicester City in just their first season of second-tier football since rising from League One in 2022.

Question marks surround the future of sought-after manager Kieran McKenna but one man who will certainly be moving on from Ipswich Town is goalkeeper Nick Hayes. His deal is up this summer and will not be renewed.

Now though, it has been confirmed that the 25-year-old has already landed a new club.

National League side Barnet have announced the signing of Hayes on their official club website. He joins on a free transfer, keeping him in the fifth-tier following a strong loan spell with play-off finalists Solihull Moors.

Hayes kept seven clean sheets in 27 games for the Moors, also keeping an impressive three clean sheets in four games on an emergency loan at Southend United in October.

He departs without making a senior appearance for the club, fulfilling a role as cover and competition at Portman Road while spending some time out on loan. Those stints have been emergency ones more often than not, but his time at Solihull Moors has shown he’s ready to be a no.1.

A move to Barnet should offer him the chance to do that and at 25, he’s at the right age to take that opportunity.

At The Hive, he’ll be hoping to play a key role in another promotion bid. They fell short this year but with the help of Hayes and some other impressive signings, they’ll be determined to go one further this time around.

Back at Ipswich Town…

While Hayes bids farewell to the Tractor Boys, the promotion celebrations have turned into a period of real uncertainty at Portman Road.

McKenna is drawing high profile interest amid a merry-go-round of managers in the Premier League and Ipswich Town may well fall victim to that.

His trajectory may be even steeper than the club’s, which is some going. It highlights just how highly regarded McKenna is, and it could mean that Ipswich are on the hunt for a new boss to lead them into the top-flight.

As departing ‘keeper Hayes embarks on a new chapter, time will tell just who leads Town into a new era of their own

GET MORE NEWS HERE