Ipswich Town won't regret £1.25m Sunderland transfer agreement - The player involved did | OneFootball

Ipswich Town got their money's worth for the signing of Chris Makin from Sunderland in 2001

Ipswich Town got good value for their money for the £1.25m signing of the reliable left-back Chris Makin.

English left-back Makin arrived in March 2001 for Ipswich Town and proved to be a quality value-for-money signing for the Tractor Boys.

The defender made just shy of 100 appearances [93] in all competitions for the Tractor Boys and will forever be remembered for his calm and composed nature in the wide areas in the early 2000s that he gave to the Ipswich fans in his three-year spell at Portman Road.

Makin signed for Ipswich from Sunderland for a fee of £1.25m which kept him at the club until July 2004 as they looked to build on the success of staying in the Premier League in 2000/01. He quickly became a solid full-back option and introduced himself to East Anglia as a mainstay in their side.

It was also reported that the fee for Markin would increase a further £150,000 once he has played 45 games for Ipswich, which he surpassed.

Upon signing for the Suffolk outfit, Ipswich manager at the time, George Burley, was a keen admirer of the qualities that Makin possessed, and for a fee north of £1m, his three-year service to the club certainly made his transfer worthwhile despite it coming to a regretful end.

Injury problems were a common theme throughout Chris Makin's Ipswich Town career

Despite making 92 appearances for the Tractor Boys, with 41 of those coming in the Premier League and a further eight in European competitions, Makin's Ipswich Town career will forever be tainted by his ongoing injury concerns between 2001-2004.

When signing for Ipswich, he walked straight into the starting XI under Burley as he made 40 league appearances over the next couple of seasons before making 33 second tier outings in his third and final season.

His reliability is what stood out to those involved at Portman Road, as his manager had high praise for the full-back.

When speaking to BBC Sport, Burley said: "Signing Chris gives us extra strength in depth and more options. He is a very accomplished defender who is quick, strong and has the great asset of being a good passer of the ball with either foot. I am sure he will fit in well with our style of play."

And that he did. After seeking a new challenge after four years with the Black Cats and even a spell out in France with Marseille, Makin proved his worth by being an outlet in the wide areas and proved depth in the full-back areas that had been lacking in the years prior to his arrival.

However, despite Makin and Ipswich's best efforts, they couldn't steer their way to safety as they finished 18th in the Premier League, resulting in a drop-down to Division 1, where they remained ever since their recent promotion in the 2023/24 campaign from the now-known Championship.

Chris Makin could have become a cult hero with Ipswich Town but opted for Leicester City instead

Upon the expiry of his contract in July 2004, the full-back did enough to show that he was a valuable part of the Ipswich side in the early 2000s despite constant injury setbacks.

His die-hard nature in giving his all for the badge every time he stepped foot onto the pitch earned the defender a chance of signing a short-term contract extension that was offered to enable him to prove his fitness levels and fight for his place in the team. He had the option of a season-long deal at the end of it but looked elsewhere for the next step in his stop-start career.

As a result of turning down the offer given to him by Ipswich and upsetting many at Portman Road in the process, Makin opted to sign a longer-term deal with Leicester City which guaranteed him a year at the Walkers Stadium. Ipswich were in good shape at the time and tipped to be promotion candidates even with them losing some senior players in the summer of 2004.

Due to a threadbare squad the following year, had Makin not sought an exit route, the defender would've looked set to be their regular left-back option, but after moving on to pastures new in the Midlands, game time again came at a premium as he only made 23 appearances during his spell.

His move to the Foxes ultimately went down as a major flop with him becoming a Reading player the following year.

Reflecting on his decision that shaped the trajectory of his career, in an exclusive via the East Anglian Daily Times, Makin said: "I had my reasons. Sometimes you make decisions in life, and they don't work out and this is one of them. I can't say I regret it. I made a decision and I have to back myself, but you have to look at all the facts now and see it hasn't worked out."

Makin went on to say: "It is one of those things in football, you have to take the bad with the good. I have to sort myself out, you never know in football what will happen."

Makin was forced to retire due to a hip injury in 2008 and has since focused on his property management business as well as providing on-air analysis for Qatari broadcaster Al-Kass TV.

Overall, despite Makin not exclusively saying that his move to Leicester was a regret, Ipswich Town certainly won't mind as they received the full-back's best days for just under a century of appearances. But for Makin, his Ipswich career could've been so much more, and he will know it too.