By Derek DavisChief Football WriterPROUD dad Andy Rhodes has spoken for the first time about his teenage son Jordan's £5,000 move to Ipswich from Barnsley last January.

By Derek Davis

Chief Football Writer

PROUD dad Andy Rhodes has spoken for the first time about his teenage son Jordan's £5,000 move to Ipswich from Barnsley last January.

The highly-rated striker finished leading scorer in the Nike Cup Under-15s tournament at Warwick University last week, with five goals in six games, giving an indication that the fee is looking a wise investment.

Blues goalkeeping coach Rhodes told the EADT: “I was delighted for him to finish top scorer last week in a prestigious competition against a lot of teams from Premiership clubs.

“Jordan worked very hard to get here and has done it entirely on his own merits as a striker.

“Joe (Royle) has watched him a fair bit and has seen something in him. As an old striker himself he has helped Jordan a fair bit, giving him advice and tips and feels he has a future.

“I'm also grateful to the Chairman who sorted out the details with Barnsley over Christmas and Jordan was able to come to Ipswich in January and has been doing quite well.”

Ipswich were finally beaten 2-0 in the final by Arsenal, who they had beaten already in the group stages, but showed once more that the club's future relies on the highly-vaunted Academy.

n Republic of Ireland Under-21 striker Daryl Murphy is hoping Ipswich Town can come up with £100,000 so they can buy him from present club Waterford United, after a recent trial at Portman Road.