Aaron Cresswell drops Ipswich Town return hint | OneFootball

Portman Road was where he applied his trade before moving to the Premier League over a decade ago.

Aaron Cresswell hasn't ruled out a return to Ipswich Town after announcing his departure from West Ham United.

11 years, hundreds of appearances and one European trophy later, the left-back will finally return to Portman Road to play against his former club in what will be his last appearance for his current club. It really is a poetic ending to Cresswell's time at West Ham.

Cresswell swapped East Anglia for east London in the summer of 2014, completing a £3.75 million move - over 15 times more than the £240,000 that Ipswich bought him off Tranmere Rovers for.

Sunday will also be Ipswich's last Premier League outing before their official relegation back to the Championship. Cresswell played 138 times for the Tractor Boys before leaving the club.

Aaron Cresswell on the possibility of an Ipswich Town return

Now that he is set to become a free agent, a return to Town is an option for the 35-year-old. In an interview with the East Anglian Daily Times, Cresswell refused to rule out the option of returning to Portman Road for another spell. "As I say, I've got no club in the summer, so let's see what the summer brings," said the left-back.

"First and foremost I'm definitely carrying on, there's no doubt about that. I still feel like I've got a lot to offer on and off the pitch," he says.

"Towards the back end of the season I've managed to play a lot of games under the new manager that's come in, whether that's at left-back or left side of a three.

"I've certainly learnt a lot from senior players over my career. The mentors I've had at West Ham have been Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble, two fantastic leaders. You want to be like a sponge and absorb as much as you can.

"I'm 35 now and the older I've got the more you realise how important those experienced players are. We've got some young boys coming through at West Ham now and I try and help them in any way I can. Let's see what happens in the summer."

Ipswich's left-back depth may harm Cresswell's chances of a return to East Anglia

Ipswich already have a couple of accomplished players in Cresswell's position. Leif Davis' last Championship season was an astounding one, racking up 20 direct goal contributions - outrageous numbers for a player of his position.

Conor Townsend joined Town last summer from West Bromwich Albion for £750,000. Unless one of them moves on, Cresswell's prospective chances of getting minutes under Kieran McKenna, in his typical back-four system, aren't high.

There's no guarantee that the second tier is what's on the cards for the 35-year-old either. He's made 17 starts for the Hammers this season, including 10 starts. Clubs coming up from the Championship - Leeds United, Burnley and one of Sheffield United and Sunderland - may look to take the experienced defender on to add a bit of Premier League knowhow to their squads.