James Norwood is leaving Ipswich Town after three seasons with the club.

The striker, signed on a free transfer from Tranmere in the summer of 2019, scored 28 goals in Ipswich Blue in 88 matches before being deemed surplus to requirements by Kieran McKenna.

Eleven of those came in his first season, 10 in his second and seven in his third, with much of his time with the Blues hit by injury or exile from the first-team picture.

Of his 28 goals, 13 were fired from his favoured right foot in open play, with four coming from his left and six headers, while he also added four penalties. All-but-one of his Ipswich goals were scored inside the box.

Some were beautiful finishes, some were scrappy. Many came at vital times and others less so.

So here goes - an attempt to pick my five favourite Norwood goals.

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5: Sunderland (h) - 18/12/2021

A great team move ending with a brave and brilliant header.

It starts with a Wes Burns throw, then a nice Sone Aluko lay-off followed by a drive and stab by Sam Morsy. Then it’s a Macauley Bonne cross into danger before Norwood does the rest, getting in between two defenders and thumping a header in off the bar.

The fact this goal came in front of 29,000 Town fans, and at a time when Norwood was in great scoring form, helps its cause.

4: Portsmouth - 20/03/2021

This one’s a proper striker’s goal.

A nice slipped pass from Gwion Edwards, one of Norwood’s closest friends at Town, and then a perfectly-placed and firmly-hit finish back across the goalkeeper into the far corner.

All done wearing the ‘Barcelona’ style away kit with the striking yellow clash socks. A strong look.

3: Accrington Stanley (h) - 11/1/2020

Now, I’m sure this one might feature at the top of a few people’s lists.

It’s a great goal. A classy chip from Norwood as he channelled his inner Finidi George as he netted from almost exactly the same spot the Nigerian did against Sunderland all those years ago.

Emyr Huws freed him with an excellent ball and Norwood’s connection with the ball was superb, too.

So why is it only third, I hear you ask? Well, it’s maybe because I just love headed goals.

2: Accrington Stanley (a) - 02/03/2021

Another brilliant header, this time meeting Andre Dozzell’s cross after future Town player Cameron Burgess had given away a free-kick.

And it was Burgess Norwood beat to score, contorting his body perfectly to angle home an expert header. A brilliant finish.

1: Wycombe Wanders (a) - 1/1/2020

I absolutely love this goal. Maybe a little too much.

But the reason I love it so much is how it requires three players to be on the same wavelength at the exact same moment, catching the Chairboys napping.

Alan Judge put the ball down quickly, Luke Garbutt took matters into his own hands as he fired in a wicked delivery and Norwood’s movement was perfect as he got the run on his man before nodding home a good header.

Quick-thinking at its finest and the perfect way to celebrate Paul Lambert’s new five-year contract, which was signed earlier in the day.

Clearly, the Accrington chip was a better finish than this one, but this doesn't stop me loving this James Norwood goal.

Honourable mentions

So there’s my top five, but there were a few other contenders too.

Norwood’s final Ipswich goal, which saw him finish from a tight angle, was a really good one but it just missed out.

So did his running finish at Hull in February of 2021, when he connected with Myles Kenlock’s cross-field ball to find the back of the net for caretaker Matt Gill. Another really good finish.

I loved his first Portman Road goal, which saw Norwood charge from deep in August of 2019 and head home through traffic to level against Wimbledon, while his strikes for Kieran McKenna against Gillingham and Shrewsbury in 2022 are good examples of Norwood’s clever penalty box movement. The same goes for his header against Bristol Rovers in December of 2019.

Then there’s his strike at Wigan, as he returned from his exile with a goal in Town’s lovely black kit. It’s not a beautiful goal but it was extremely timely and prompted celebration in which the striker made his point.