When Ipswich Town were forced into heartbreaking £1m transfer involving Newcastle United | OneFootball

Darren Ambrose never wanted to make the move up to the North East in 2003.

Ipswich Town were forced to sell their most promising young talent in Darren Ambrose to Newcastle United outside of the transfer window in 2003.

The sale of the 19-year-old midfielder to Sir Bobby Robson's Newcastle in March that year pretty much summed up everything that was wrong with Town's financial situation during one of the darkest periods in their history.

With administrators breathing down their necks as wage bills were mounting, Ipswich had little choice but to accept what many considered a bargain price of £1m for a player who had already scored eleven goals that season.

How Darren Ambrose was forced out of Ipswich Town

By the time Ambrose departed Portman Road, Ipswich Town were already deep into a bad financial situation that had certainly spiralled out of control.

The Suffolk outfit entered administration in February 2003 - with then-chairman David Sheepshanks admitting they faced "financial ruin" following relegation from the Premier League the previous season.

When Sheepshanks spoke after selling then-Ipswich captain Matt Holland to Aston Villa, he mentioned Town's broadcast revenue had plummeted from over £20m in the top-flight to an estimated £750k in the Championship (then known as the First Division).

Even with parachute payments of approximately £5m, the collapse of ITV Digital removed a further £2.5m in income from each Division One club.

Administrator Nick Dargan was brutally honest about the need to sell players to fund others' wages, explaining that "players have not been sold to appease creditors but to enable us to be able to pay player wages."

Darren Ambrose didn't want to go to Newcastle United

The timing of the transfer window obviously deserves pointing out.

With Ipswich in administration, Newcastle were able to complete the signing outside of the traditional transfer window as the Tractor Boys were classed as a club in 'distress'.

Ambrose had joined Town's academy at 11-years-old and progressed through the youth ranks up to their first team.

He was conflicted about the move himself, later revealing he did not want to go when he was sold to Newcastle, and that he would "rather be helping Ipswich try and get back into the Premiership."

It's worth noting that Ipswich had climbed away from the relegation zone to finish seventh in the First Division that season - just four points off the playoffs.

Former manager George Burley, speaking after his dismissal, was angry at how the board handled player sales during that period.

"When Darren Ambrose was virtually given away, that was the biggest disappointment for me," Burley stated.

Darren Ambrose never reached his true potential after Newcastle United transfer

At Newcastle, the gamble on Ambrose paid off well in the short term.

He made his debut in the final game of the 02/03 season and went on to make 56 appearances for the club - scoring six goals. 29 of those games were from the substitutes' bench though.

Looking back, the £1m fee paid by the Geordies for Ambrose seems even more of a bargain given his subsequent move. Since he never really earned a starring role at St James' Park, at 21 he later moved to Charlton Athletic in 2005.

The sum paid for him to move to London was reported as being £1.5m - which was the highest transfer fee he ever received throughout his career.

Ambrose made the most appearances for the Addicks (127) than any other club in his career, as he established himself as a key player for them both in the Premier League and the Championship.

However, his best days would perhaps come as a Crystal Palace player between 2009-2012, where he scored 37 goals and provided 23 assists in 124 appearances for the Eagles during his three seasons with them in the second tier.

He scored some fantastic and hugely vital goals for Palace, before having a brief spell with Birmingham City before a short stint back with Ipswich in 2014 after a short time in Greece, but only played eight times for the Tractor Boys

For any Ipswich fans who remember this move, they must surely look back on it with some sadness.

Such a promising young talent was sold for what amounted to peanuts in modern football terms after notching up a double-digit goal return, and went on to become a cult hero with Crystal Palace instead.