It’s been a confusing season for Ipswich Town so far this year.
Kieran McKenna’s side have looked incredible in games against some of the Premier League’s big boys like Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, but then somewhat lacklustre against the more beatable sides like West Ham United and Leicester City.
That pattern continued on Tuesday night as the Tractor Boys fell to a 1-0 home defeat to struggling Crystal Palace, and while they weren’t blown away, it was still an incredibly disappointing result.
There were tepid displays all over the pitch for McKenna’s side, but one of the worst was Jack Clarke, who just hasn’t looked like himself this year, and if reports are to be believed, he could soon have some more competition due to a transfer reminiscent of Ali Al-Hamadi’s.
Clarke’s struggles this season
Ipswich opted to pay Sunderland £15m for Clarke this summer, and while that’s a lot of money for someone who had never played in the Premier League before, it was understandable based on his form for the Black Cats.
For example, across the 22/23 and 23/24 campaigns, the York-born “diamond”, as scored a whopping 26 goals and provided 18 assists in 92 appearances.
That means the former Leeds United prospect averaged a goal involvement every 2.19 games, which is undeniably impressive for a wide player and certainly good enough to warrant a move to the top flight.
However, for whatever reason, the Englishman’s sensational form for Sunderland has not followed him to Suffolk, and, as things stand, he’s provided just a single assist in 13 appearances, which, to put it lightly, just isn’t good enough.
Now, in his defence, it’s unlikely that his talent has suddenly evaporated, and in time, he could reach the heady heights he did in the northeast, but at the moment, McKenna needs another wideman he can call on when Sammie Szmodics needs rest, and therefore it would be wise to sign a rival for Clarke.
Fortunately, that may be happening, as the Tractor Boys were linked to an up-and-coming EFL talent just a few days ago who could be the ideal candidate.
The EFL talent who could rival Clarke
So, to get straight to the point, the promising talent in question is Chesterfield forward James Berry-McNally, who, according to a report from Spain late last week, has caught Ipswich’s eye this season.
Moreover, like the Iraqi international, the Chesterfield ace is thriving and clearly a cut above the rest in the league.
For example, in 21 games so far, the Wigan-born dynamo has scored nine goals and provided two assists, which is made all the more impressive by the fact that ten of his 21 appearances have been in left-midfield.
Ultimately, nobody should expect Berry-McNally to come into this Ipswich team and immediately displace Clarke and Szmodics on the left.
However, with the former clearly struggling, he would be able to provide more competition for a place, which could, in turn, push the former Sunderland ace to get back to his best.
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