St Pauli have signed Peterborough United forward Ricky Jade-Jones on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with the League One club.
The deal means that Jones will now play in the top flight of German football, having played the majority of his career in England’s third tier. The Bundesliga club, which finished 14th in the league this season, needed a new striker following the departure of Johannes Eggestein.
In a statement on Instagram, Ricky-Jade Jones thanked his manager, Darren Ferguson and the Peterborough United fans for sticking with him, saying: “Joining this club as a 9-year-old boy, I didn’t realise the impact it would have on my life.”
The two-time EFL Trophy winner continued: “This city has been my whole life and will definitely hold a special place in my heart.”
“I will be cheering on and wishing all the best for this amazing club that gave me a chance. I will never forget where it all started.”
Speaking to the St Pauli club website, Jones said: “I felt the time had come for a new challenge and I’m glad to get this opportunity at FC St. Pauli.”
“I’m looking forward to a very international team, enthusiastic fans and big teams in one of the strongest leagues in the world”
Cardiff City were rumoured to be interested in signing Ricky-Jade Jones, with their then-owner, Omer Riza, stating that Jones was on the Bluebirds‘ list of transfer targets back in January. Since then, of course, Cardiff have been relegated and will join Peterborough in League One.
The 22-year-old came through the academy at the Cambridgeshire club, making 203 appearances, scoring 41 goals and registering 12 assists.
A summer of change for Peterborough United?
The Posh are looking at a summer of rumoured outgoing deals with a number of their key players linked to moves away.
Academy graduate Ricky-Jade Jones is just one of those to leave the club, with sought-after midfielder Kwame Poku departing the club following the expiration of his deal.
League One champions Birmingham City are rumoured to be chasing the Ghana international who registered 20 goals and assists in 25 starts for Peterborough in the 2024/25 season.
Birmingham may, however, face competition from Scottish giants Rangers and Celtic, who are also rumoured to be fans of Kwame Poku. The SPFL teams have been keen on the former Peterborough United man for a while, according to the Posh’s director of football, Barry Fry, who says that “Celtic and Rangers have been to most of our (Peterborough’s) games this season,”.
In fact, Fry also stated that he thinks there are over 20 sides interested in signing Kwame Poku, believing that he “has what it takes to make it to the Premier League.”
Peterborough have made some signings themselves so far this window, having completed deals for Kyrell Lisbie from National League side Braintree United and Declan Firth from Swiss second-tier side FC Thun.