Town snap up talented young forward
The Hatters are pleased to announce their first signing of the summer – Ipswich Town striker Jack Marriott.
The 20-year-old has penned an initial one-year contract with a view to a longer-term deal at Kenilworth Road.
Born in Beverley but raised in Northampton as a youngster, Marriott was snapped up by the Ipswich academy as teenager, and after prolific spells for their youth team he signed professional forms in December 2013.
It was at the end of the 2012/13 campaign that Marriott made his Ipswich debut, in the Championship against Burnley.
The following season Jack enjoyed an excellent spell on loan at Woking in the Conference, scoring 13 goals in 25 games across two spells – with a one-game loan at Gillingham sandwiched in between.
In the season just passed, the forward was a regular scorer for Ipswich’s under-21s and spent more time out on loan, with Carlisle and Colchester in the Football League, and at Woking once more, where he scored five goals in 23 matches.
On Marriott – who made his reserve team debut for Ipswich against the Hatters at Kenilworth Road as a 15-year-old – Town boss John Still told lutontown.co.uk: “Jack’s quick, he’s aggressive, he’s had a bit of Football League experience and he’s scored goals in the Conference.
“He’s somebody we actually looked at bringing in on loan during the Conference title season but we decided against it as we had the firepower at the time.
“So naturally he’s a player we’ve been looking at for a while – I actually first saw him playing for Ipswich reserves.
“And what I liked about him – putting goals to one side – was his attitude on the pitch. So we kept a close eye on him and when we knew something could be possible we’ve moved quickly.”
Marriott exclusively told Hatters Player: “I’ve had two good seasons out on loan and learned a lot but now I’m ready to settle at a club where I’ve got a good chance to contribute to the team.
“I like to run in behind and threatened defences, hassle them and don’t give them a minute’s peace, and I like to score goals – that is my main target. I pride myself on goalscoring.”
Stay tuned for further reaction on lutontown.co.uk, Hatters Player and YouTube.