MACCLESFIELD Town chairman Mike Rance has given his blessing to Elliott Hewitt’s move to Ipswich Town – revealing he is pleased the right-back would have a ‘realistic chance’ of making Paul Jewell’s first team.

The 18-year-old today completed his switch to Portman Road on a three-year deal after the anticipated move was delayed slightly by Football League paperwork.

The signing has been hailed by the vast majority of Town fans who have called on Jewell to bring in young and hungry players.

But while many might think Hewitt’s path to the first team might be blocked at first by last season’s players’ player of the year Carlos Edwards, Rance has revealed something to the contrary.

The Silkmen’s chairman said: ““We’re pleased that he is going to a club with a realistic chance of making first team appearances.

“Elliott’s best interests were part of the process, but we’ve also negotiated hard to get a good deal for the club with a fee that could exceed our transfer record should all of the performance related add-ons come to fruition. He’s a young player with a great future ahead of him.”

Although the initial transfer is thought to be in the region of �150,000, various clauses could mean Hewitt breaking the �300,000 Macclesfield revealed for Rickie Lambert in April 2002.

In a special message to the Silkmen’s website, Town’s first signing of the summer said: “I’d like to thank everyone at the club for their support.

“The fans stayed behind us even when things were getting tough last season, and that support as well as the messages we were getting on Twitter were a real boost for everyone.”

After Macclesfield were relegated from League Two, Hewitt added: “Things were going so well early on and then things just dropped. To be injured when things were going wrong was difficult for me. I came to every game to support the lads and just wanted to be out there doing my bit.

“I’ll definitely be keeping watch on how the Silkmen are doing in future and will be coming to games when I can. I have a lot of good friends there, and want to see how James Bolton and Andy Mills, lads I came through with, get on too.”