Burns' departure is the end of an era - but his Town story will stand test of time

Winger Wes Burns has left Ipswich Town after five remarkable years at the club. Mark Heath reflects on one of the best stories in recent Town history...

Wes Burns was Mark Ashton's first signing at Town (Image: ITFC)

THE BEGINNING

"It's an exciting time for the club, seeing the ambitions they have, and that is one of the big draws for me coming here.

"The manager made it clear as well that the target is getting promoted to the Championship next season and then to kick on from there.

"The long term goal is to reach the Premier League and I'm thrilled to be part of that challenge." - Wes Burns, June 3rd, 2021

All great stories begin with a hook, something which grabs you and makes you invest.

In the case of Wes Burns, he arrived as signing number one of the new era at Ipswich Town, Mark Ashton's first-ever addition, in what would come to be known as the Demolition Man summer.

Just two days earlier, I'd interviewed Ashton on his first day at the club. He spoke of being a builder, of wanting to restore Town to their rightful place in the Premier League. He also promised me signings would arrive quickly.

Fast forward 48 hours and I was swearing loudly as the Burns news dropped on a Friday night, forcing me to scramble out of the seat in my garden where I was reflecting on a busy week, having unwisely given both colleagues Stuart Watson and Andy Warren the same seven days off for half-term.

Little did I know it then, as I hastily penned the story for both print and online, that perhaps the greatest fairy-tale in recent Town history had begun...

Wes Burns on the pitch after Town's first Premier League promotion (Image: Steve Waller)

THE HIGHS

"It's incredible to be honest. It's quite difficult to put into words right now. I'm sure it's going to take quite a few days to sink in, it's a dream come true.

"It's something that I set out to achieve when I was six years old starting to play football - so to have done it now, 23 years later, is an incredible achievement for me." - Wes Burns, May 4th, 2024

You need highs in any great story, of course. And Burns brought them in droves, as part of that beloved Band of Brothers side which won back-to-back promotions.

There are almost too many to count. You'll all have your own personal favourites. Here's a few of mine...

Scoring the winning goal against Derby County in that now iconic blackout third kit, live on TV, under the Portman Road lights. Town didn't win on TV, or beat promotion rivals, before then.

Grabbing the sixth as Town smoked Exeter to win promotion back to the Championship.

Setting up his best mate Conor Chaplin to score with the same pass, over and over and over again.

The dancing. The special handshakes with Janoi Donacien. That physics-defying trivela goal against Coventry at Portman Road, which may be the best goal of this era, and one of the best ever scored in Suffolk.

Racing in to defend a young Omari Hutchinson after he'd been manhandled by a much bigger and older opponent early in that first Championship season. You put hands on one of us, and we're going to put hands on you.

Burns fires Town towards the Premier League against Huddersfield (Image: PA)

And, of course, that opening goal against Huddersfield which calmed the nerves of thousands inside Portman Road as Town secured a return to the Premier League for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.

I interviewed Burns on the pitch after that game. The quotes above are from that chat. Wes was draped in a Welsh flag, with a bottle of Peroni in hand, celebrating the realisation of a boyhood dream with his family.

He didn't have to talk to me, but he did. The pride radiated from him. Wes Burns was a Premier League player.

Burns was stretchered off the pitch after rupturing his ACL at Anfield (Image: PA)

ADVERSITY

"All I knew is that I hurt my knee badly. You've got so many thoughts and emotions running through your head at that point.

"You're hoping that it's not the worst, but you're thinking, 'what if it is the worst?' You've got so many things going through your head." - Wes Burns, December 29th, 2025

No great story is complete without adversity. In the Wes Burns story, that came in the form of an ACL rupture at Anfield, just 25 minutes into what would turn into a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool on January 25th, 2025.

It was a cruel blow. Like most of his Town team-mates, Burns had struggled with the huge step up into the world's best league, but when the injury happened it felt like he was really starting to find his groove. His pace and athleticism were making him into a bonafide Premier League player.

And then it was over. Burns was carried off the pitch on a stretcher, hands on his head, his season - and dream - in ruins.

As someone who'd also snapped my ACL, I knew what lay ahead. Surgery, rehab and plenty of dark days as the realisation sinks in that you won't be able to do what you love for months, if not years.

That was hard enough for me as a slightly-less-than-elite athlete. I can only imagine what it was like for Wes, given playing football is his job as well as his passion.

I doubted we'd see him again for at least 18 months. I was sure he'd never be the same again. That pace, the ability to change direction. Gone.

But, like all great stories, the protagonist proved the doubters wrong. Wes ran - or rather, rehabbed - towards adversity and was back playing less than a year later.

Wes Burns scored at Coventry in just his second game back from his ACL rupture (Image: PA Sport)

That was extraordinary enough. The fact that he then scored to seal a win at at league leaders Coventry City in just his second game back was something straight out of a movie.

The subsequent knee slide celebration told me all I needed to know about his surgically reconstructed limb.

Burns was back. And somehow, he was better than ever.

He duly played a very real role in Town winning promotion straight back to the Premier League. Three promotions on his CV. A place in Town history secured.

Wes Burns celebrates a second promotion to the Premier League (Image: Ross Halls)

THE END

"The last five years have simply been incredible. Ipswich Town has given me and my family so much during that time and I wouldn't have imagined everything we would achieve together when I signed in 2021.

"It's been the best period of my career by far and we have created memories which will last a lifetime.

"To win three promotions and then play in the Premier League has been a dream come true. "Thank you for everything." - Wes Burns, August 6th, 2026

I guess the best endings to great stories are sometimes the ones you don't see coming.

I was delighted when Burns signed a new one-year contract a month ago, convinced he could be a factor in the Premier League.

Then out of the blue came his move to Leicester, where he's been reunited with best mate Chappers as they try to once again lift a slumbering giant out of League One.

It is the end of an era. The Band of Brothers are truly no more. Wes Burns' remarkable Town story is over.

I didn't know it at the time, but I watched Burns' last game for the Blues less than a week ago, at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford.

Wes Burns captained Town in his last-ever game for them (Image: Ross Halls)

It seems fitting now that he wore the captain's armband for that.

In the same way it does that he and Chaplin - in many ways the beating heart of the Band of Brothers - are back together again, to wreak havoc on defenders and have a good time doing it.

We'll all be watching on from afar next season, nodding knowingly and remembering where it all started.

Ipswich Town. 2021-2026. Three promotions, one ruptured ACL, one remarkable comeback. A once-in-a-generation team. An Ipswich Town legend.

Go well, Wes. And thank you.

Kaynak: East Anglian Daily Times. Telif hakkı kaynak yayına aittir; buradaki metin özet/atıftır.

Orijinal haber: https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/26446200.ipswich-town---mark-heath-wes-burns-leaving-blues/