LIAM Trotter is to stay with Ipswich Town for the 2009/10 season.

Elvin King

LIAM Trotter is to stay with Ipswich Town for the 2009/10 season.

The 20-year-old midfielder will put pen to paper tomorrow to accept the offer of a new contract - believed to be for one year - that was handed to him by Blues manager Roy Keane four weeks ago.

He liked what he heard from Keane and has decided to fight for a place in the Town first team.

Keane watched Trotter play on loan for Scunthorpe in their successful League One play-off matches at the end of last season, and saw enough to want to keep the former Northgate School pupil onboard.

Trotter's desire to make a name for himself at his home town club was tempered by the knowledge that Scunthorpe were poised to offer him a longer deal, and on paper a better chance of regular first team Championship football.

The heart has ruled, and now Trotter is looking to follow suit with Shane Supple and Ed Upson and make the most of the faith Keane has been in him.

Trotter is the last of the 13 Ipswich players who are out of contract today (TUES) to be sorted and along with Alex Bruce, Supple and Upson will be staying.

Ivan Campo, Dan Harding, Chris Casement, Dean Bowditch, Kurt Robinson, Matt Richards, Billy Clarke, Tommy Miller and Jai Reason will or have already moved on.

It will be a big year for Trotter, who last season appeared in five of the opening six Town games but never played again, turning out 29 times for first Grimsby and then Scunthorpe on loan.

Keane can see something in Trotter, and with the Ipswich squad set to be reduced from the near-30 it was last campaign to a more manageable 23 or 24 he could see more Portman Road action.

Scunthorpe manager Nigel Adkins has confirmed his interest in Crewe midfielder Michael O'Connor, who is a similar style midfielder giving notice that he expects Trotter to opt to stay with Ipswich.

Ipswich's game at Cardiff on November 28 will kick-off at 1pm so that it does not clash with Wales' rugby union game against Australian at the Millennium Stadium on the same day.

Both clubs have been reported to be showing an interest in Rangers left-back Damien Delaney although the price tag for the Republic of Ireland international is believed to have gone up from the �700,000 that Ipswich looked at one time last week as though they were about complete a deal on.

Town players report for pre-season training on Thursday with many already back and going through their paces at the Playford Road training ground.