Ipswich Town host Liverpool in their Premier League opener a week tomorrow. Stuart Watson reassesses the state of the squad heading towards the big kick-off.
GOALKEEPER
In: Aro Muric (Burnley, £8m)
Out: Vaclav Hladky (Burnley, free), Nick Hayes (Barnet, free)
Current unit: Aro Muric, Christian Walton, Cieran Slicker
Ipswich and Burnley swapped divisions and then subsequently swapped goalkeepers.
Vaclav Hladky, one of Town’s best players in the promotion campaign, became a free agent after failing to agree terms on a new deal at Portman Road. He says Kieran McKenna wanted to keep him.
As a result, Ipswich had to shell out £8m to sign a replacement in Kosovo international Aro Muric. The 25-year-old produced a string of big saves when stepping into Burnley’s relegation-fighting team at the back end of last season, but there were also a couple of high-profile errors too. Pep Guardiola allegedly once said the former Man City youngster was good enough to play outfield, so that hopefully bodes well.
Is this keeper switch an unnecessary transfer outlay/disruption to a well-oiled team, or will it prove to be an upgrade? Time will tell.
It looks increasingly likely that Christian Walton will stick around as a strong back-up option for the final year of his contract, allowing promising Scotland U21 international Cieran Slicker to go out and develop on loan.
New assistant goalkeeper coach, David Martin, who played for Southend last season, can boost training numbers.
Verdict: Sorted
RIGHT-BACK
In: Ben Johnson (West Ham, free)
Out: Janoi Donacien (contract expired), Brandon Williams (loan expired)
Current unit: Ben Johnson, Axel Tuanzebe, Harry Clarke
Ben Johnson may have been a free transfer, but he could arguably prove to be one of Ipswich’s most important additions this summer.
The 24-year-old reportedly turned down a new five-year deal at West Ham, as well as interest from elsewhere, to join the Portman Road project. A UEFA Conference League winner, he brings athleticism and Premier League experience.
Town’s only other out-and-out right-back is Harry Clarke. He underwent surgery on both troublesome Achilles in May and, having not yet featured in pre-season, is going to take a bit of time to get fully fit.
That leaves Axel Tuanzebe as the next man in line. The former Manchester United man, another player with a decent amount of top-flight experience, showed at the back end of last season he is well suited to the narrow right-back role in Kieran McKenna’s system. He too won’t quite be up to full speed though having missed the pre-season camp in Austria due to personal reasons.
Verdict: Sorted
CENTRE-BACK
In: Jacob Greaves (Hull City, £15m)
Out: Corrie Ndaba (Kilmarnock, undisc), Elkan Baggott (Blackpool, loan)
Current unit: Luke Woolfenden, Cameron Burgess, Jacob Greaves, George Edmundson
Even if we’re counting Tuanzebe as a right-back for now, that still leaves McKenna with four centre-backs.
It looks a straight battle between new signing Jacob Greaves and Cameron Burgess - both left-footed and strong in the air – for one slot.
Then you’ve got the ice-cool Luke Woolfenden (who’s started more games than anyone under McKenna) in pole position for the other, with powerful runner George Edmundson acting as a back-up/rotation option.
That’s enough in terms of numbers, but is it enough in terms of quality/experience?
There was a report this week that Ipswich had shown interest in Burnley and Republic of Ireland centre-back Dara O’Shea, but that he is set to join Brentford. Read into that what you will.
Verdict: I can see the argument for trying to upgrade, but for me this unit has a good variety of qualities and deserves to be given a chance to prove themselves. The remainder of the budget has to be prioritised for midfield/attack.
LEFT-BACK
In: Conor Townsend (West Brom, £500k)
Out: N/A
Current unit: Leif Davis, Conor Townsend
The infatigable Leif Davis attracted plenty of admiring looks after producing an incredible 18 assists in the Championship last season. Physically and technically he looks Premier League ready. Hopefully his defensive game, much improved since he first joined, stands up to the challenge of world class wingers.
Bringing in a specialist back-up was prudent given the physical demands of this bespoke role of covering an entire flank. Town have down that with the £500k addition of Conor Townsend from West Brom. The 31-year-old is a player who will help set standards in training and be ready to step in whenever called upon.
Verdict: Sorted.
CENTRE-MIDFIELD
In: N/A
Out: Idris El Mizouni (Oxford Utd, £400k), Lewis Travis (Blackburn loan expired), Dom Ball (released), Panutche Camara (released, signed for Crawley)
Current unit: Sam Morsy, Massimo Luongo, Jack Taylor, Cameron Humphreys
Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo have forged a formidable partnership in the middle of the park over the last 18 months. Both have taken the long route to the Premier League and won’t be taking this opportunity for granted.
There’s no doubting that the duo, who turn 33 and 32 respectively next month, could do with some competition though.
Jack Taylor, the man with a penchant for scoring long-range screamers, provides a more attacking option for the left-sided No.8 slot. Personally, I prefer him further forwards though and he might yet be needed there given the current shortage of options in the attacking unit.
Surely this is the summer that academy graduate Cameron Humphreys goes out on loan? He’ll have learnt loads working under McKenna, but is 20 now and the next stage of his development is to play regular senior football.
Verdict: Town need at least one signing in this position, arguably two. A tall, powerful, box-to-box ball carrier to provide a different option would top my wish list. Beyond that it’s looking for younger versions of Morsy and Luongo.
Town were beaten to the signing of Flynn Downes by Southampton, which was a shame. Tottenham’s Oliver Skipp, who has good Premier League experience for a 23-year-old, has been linked. He looks a good fit, but Ipswich would face competition for that signature.
SUPPORT FORWARDS
In: Omari Hutchinson (Chelsea, £18m)
Out: Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton loan expired), Kayden Jackson (released, signed for Derby), Sone Aluko (retired, now on coaching staff)
Current unit: Wes Burns, Omari Hutchinson, Conor Chaplin, Nathan Broadhead, Marcus Harness
There’s no dressing it up. This area of Town’s squad looks really thin with little more than a week until the big kick-off.
Nathan Broadhead, the joint topscorer last season, has picked up a pre-season hamstring injury and won’t be back until October at the earliest.
Jeremy Sarmiento and Kayden Jackson both played vital super sub roles and haven’t yet been replaced.
New boy Liam Delap can play wide right but, as we’ll come on to, he’s going to be needed up front.
McKenna likes to load his bench with attacking players and regularly changes his entire front four in the second half of games for an injection of energy. That was a big reason why the Blues scored so many late goals.
I would imagine that the three who will start against Liverpool next weekend will be Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin and Omari Hutchinson, leaving, as it stands, just Marcus Harness to tap-in. That’s nowhere near enough. Burns had a couple of injury set-backs last season, while Hutchinson, lest we not forget, has only started 25 games of men’s football.
Verdict: A dynamic left-sided attacker who loves to cut inside is a must. Town were beaten to the signing of Jaden Philogene by Aston Villa, while Sunderland’s Jack Clarke is known to be a player of interest.
One more on top of that a pure goal getter – potentially Sammie Szmodics from Blackburn if the price is right – would be a welcome bonus. As I’ve said though, I think Jack Taylor could back-up Chaplin in the No.10 role.
STRIKERS
In: Liam Delap (£15m, Man City)
Out: Kieffer Moore (Bournemouth loan expired), Gassan Ahadme (Charlton, £1m)
Current unit: George Hirst, Liam Delap, Ali Al-Hamadi, Freddie Ladapo
Ideally, new signing Liam Delap would have been eased in via some rotation and sub appearances across multiple positions. That would have provided him time to gain an understanding of McKenna’s principles and the instincts of his new team-mates.
Instead, due to George Hirst’s pre-season injury, the strong and powerful 21-year-old is going to have to lead the line from the off. It’s not yet known how long the Hirst will be out for, but the fact he needs to see a knee specialist suggests it’s not minor.
Ideally, Ipswich would want to sell Freddie Ladapo (who spent last season on loan at League One side Charlton) and loan out Ali Al-Hamadi (who was playing in League Two not so long ago). Those exits will have to be put on ice for now though given the lack of numbers.
Verdict: I was confident Hirst could deliver in the Premier League, but his injuries are a concern. I’m excited to see Delap develop, but fear he may need time to do so. Al-Hamadi is a raw, wild card option if he sticks around, but no more than that.
Town need another striker. The problem is that they don’t come cheap. Do the Blues risk paying £20m+ for a foreign recruit that may or may not take to the division (see Fotis Ioannidis)? Or is it more sensible to get in someone experienced who can deal with pressure moments on the pitch and provide leadership off it?
The Blues just about came through a difficult period early this year in between Hirst’s hamstring injury on Boxing Day and Kieffer Moore’s arrival on January 31. They don’t want to risk being caught short up top again.
OVERALL VERDICT
A powerful starting central midfielder, a dynamic inside left forward and an experienced striker would be the three players on the top of my shopping list. That would provide McKenna with the two specialist players for every position he’s after.
Getting those three in, with Humphreys, Ladapo and Al-Hamadi to depart, would leave the Blues boss with a 24-man squad.
Given Hutchinson and Delap both don’t count towards the 25-man squad limit due to their age, that would still leave from room for three more ‘bonus’ signings on top to boost options. That’s when the loan market may come into play.
In summary, three signings minimum, six signings maximum.
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