Ipswich Town made the most of Middlesbrough player exit and have reaped big rewards: View

Ipswich Town made the most of the Middlesbrough player exit and have reaped big rewards: View.

The Australian international has been a key member of Kieran McKenna’s team ever since.

After Middlesbrough lost out on chasing Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka on deadline day in 2022, Luongo signed a short-term contract with Boro.

Nevertheless, the seasoned EFL player was let go after failing to play a single game for the team by the time his contract expired at the start of 2023.

Seeing a chance to bolster his team with a seasoned League One and Championship performer—and to bring him back to a team he had played for ten years—McKinna signed Luongo for a six-month stint.

In this article, Football League World looks at one of the best recent cheap acquisitions made by Ipswich and assesses the Socceroos star’s influence at Portman Road.

Luongo forms top partnership with fellow ex-Boro midfielder

The Tractor Boys needed that extra bit of quality to move up into the automatic promotion slots since, at the time of Luongo’s arrival, Ipswich was in third place in the League One table.

With his status as a first-team regular in the Championship, Sam Morsy’s move to Portman Road at the beginning of the 22–23 season was somewhat of a surprise. He was occupying the other centre midfield position.

Luongo would make his second Ipswich debut on matchday 33 after missing a few games following his arrival, most

likely as a result of McKenna evaluating his level of fitness during training.

He went on to participate in all of Ipswich’s remaining league games, contributing significantly to the team’s

automatic promotion to the Championship and establishing a strong midfield relationship with Morsy that would

eventually serve as the team’s engine.

The following season, when McKenna’s team attempted to surprise everyone by winning the championship, Luongo’s

two goals and excellent draw performances guaranteed him a starting spot again.

They accomplished exactly that, and by finishing in second place, they guaranteed the Tractor Boys would receive

back-to-back promotions, marking the first time since the turn of the century that Premier League football would be played.

A low-risk, high-reward gamble that certainly paid off

Luongo became something of a symbol for Ipswich’s accomplishments that season, making 43 Championship games

and scoring three goals.

Many people wrote them off, and few thought they had much of a chance to advance from the second division, let

alone stay there. However, like Luongo, McKenna and his team proved a lot of people wrong.

According to FotMob, Luongo’s 65 tackles gained in the 23/24 season were only surpassed by 1.5% of Championship

players in his position. However, he was listed in the top 94.7 and 88.6% of those categories for his 54 interceptions

and 224 recoveries, respectively.

Ipswich were able to field one of the hardest-working and most formidable centre midfield duos in the

Championship with Morsy, proving the adage that skill is not always a prerequisite for hard work.

While it’s true that neither of those two players lacked skill—teams rarely advance from a league without a solid and

talented midfield core—it’s also reasonable to argue that the division contained some maybe more elegant and

sophisticated central midfielders.

But because of McKenna’s outstanding coaching and his clear knowledge of Luongo’s position in the team, the club’s

acquisition of Luongo will be remembered as a brilliant move that cost them nothing and significantly contributed to

their ascent to the Premier League’s wealth.

The Australian, who will turn 32 at the end of September, will probably play more of a rotational role this season due

to the arrival of England international Kalvin Phillips in midfield this summer. However, his experience and

dependability will undoubtedly be called upon numerous times to help Arsenal maintain their top-flight status.

His actions will also undoubtedly make some Middlesbrough supporters question whether they can make decisions at Riverside Stadium.

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