Martin Lipton, chief football writer for the Daily Mirror, is to join the Sun, reports Norman Giller on the Sports Journalists' Association website, an appointment since confirmed by the Sun.
Lipton, described by Giller as "one of the finest sports journalists of his generation", is to become deputy head of sport content alongside the sports editor, Shaun Custis.
Giller writes:
"It is a huge challenge for Lipton after more than 20 years on the road, when he used the office just for writing his expenses and catching breath between reporting assignments.
He is an all-rounder who sowed his first story seeds with the Oxford Courier and the West Riding agency in Huddersfield before travelling the football path as chief reporter for the Press Association and the Daily Mail, joining the Mirror in 2002.
Custis and Lipton were rivals on the road but good friends, and they will be a formidable duo as they set out to make the Sun sports coverage not only entertaining but authoritative.
Few can match this pair for contacts and experience of deadlines and headlines."
A Sun spokesman said: "We are delighted that Martin is joining our first-class sports team."
