Last updated on .From the section Football

Ipswich have signed former Nottingham Forest captain Luke Chambers on a three-year contract.

The 26-year-old defender was out of contract after making 229 appearances for Forest in six seasons.

"I spoke to a few people in the game who know the manager and Ipswich and they had nothing but good words to say. Coming here was a no-brainer for me," he told the club's website.

Chambers trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Monday.

And following Town's disappointing 15th-place finish last season, he expects it to be even harder to try and mount a promotion challenge in the new campaign.

"Every single year it gets tougher and tougher and this year looks the toughest I've seen on paper with the teams that are in the league now," he told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"But as long as we take care of our jobs, I think we'll have as good a chance as anyone."

Chambers is the Championship club's second summer signing following the arrival of right-back Elliott Hewitt from Macclesfield for an undisclosed fee.

"There were a few clubs in for Luke but I always felt confident we would get him and I'm delighted we have," said Ipswich boss Paul Jewell.

"He's always played well against us and he can play as a full-back as well as centre-half, which gives us another option if needed.

"He's a leader as well and that's what we want from him on the pitch."