Perth RedStar product Cameron Burgess helps Ipswich Town make long-awaited return to English Premier League

Joondalup product and Socceroos defender Cameron Burgess is set to become the eighth West Australian in history — and the first in eight years — to reach the heady heights of the English Premier League. Burgess’ club side Ipswich Town completed a remarkable return to the world’s biggest football league after they secured their second consecutive promotion on the weekend. After finishing as runners-up in League One in 2023, Ipswich achieved the rare feat of a back-to-back promotion, finishing second in the English Football League Championship to climb back into the EPL. Promotion was secured for Ipswich — who boast music megastar Ed Sheeran as a fan — on the final day of the season thanks to a 2-0 win over Huddersfield United which triggered a pitch invasion. It marked the end of a 22-year absence from the EPL for the Tractor Boys and Burgess played a vital role in helping his secure promotion back to the top flight. The towering centre-back played 39 of Ipswich’s 46 league games and played the full 90 minutes in 38 of those games. Burgess also scored a pivotal goal in Ipswich’s second-last game of the season, bundling home a close-range winner in a 2-1 victory over Coventry City. One fan even went as far as getting Burgess’ name and number tattooed on his leg in the aftermath of their promotion. If he plays for Ipswich next season, he will follow in the footsteps of Andrew Petterson, Stan Lazaridis, Chris Coyne, Richard Garcia, Brad Jones, Chris Herd and Jordan Lyden as West Australians to have played in the EPL. Lyden was the last WA product to play in the EPL when he featured for Aston Villa in 2016. Burgess was born in Scotland but moved to WA as a junior and was part of the Perth RedStar (formerly ECU Joondalup) academy. Former Socceroo, Asian Cup winner and one-time Ballon d’Or nominee Massimo Luongo was also part of the celebrations which unfolded at Portman Road Stadium over the weekend, scoring three goals in 43 games for Ipswich this season. Luongo famously retired from international football ahead of January’s Asian Cup to concentrate on helping Ipswich’s promotion charge — and his decision looks to have paid dividends.