B B C Sports: Ipswich Town ‘will listen to offers’ for attacker previously linked with Sunderland – report.
Ipswich are hoping to sell former Sunderland target Ali Al-Hamadi this month. Premier League club Ipswich Town “will listen to offers” for striker Ali Al-Hamadi, who was previously connected with Sunderland before joining the Tractor Boys, according to sources. The 22-year-old joined Portman Road from AFC Wimbledon in January, but has struggled to make an impact in East Anglia, scoring only five goals in 27 appearances. So far this season, he has yet to score in the Premier League, drawing a blank in his 11 appearances.
In this context, Ipswich are apparently exploring Al-Hamadi’s departure, with a permanent move preferable. Journalist Darren Witcoop said on X: “Ipswich will consider offers for Ali Al-Hamadi. The Tractor Boys prefer to sell rather than loan away the striker.” The Echo has developed a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to deliver the most recent news, commentary, team and injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join the SAFC WhatsApp group. According to other reports, Al-Hamadi is garnering interest from the Championship, with the East Anglian Daily Times reporting that Stoke City are interested in the player.The Potters have recently appointed Mark Robbins as manager, and they may be looking for a new centre-forward after Tom Cannon was recalled from his loan spell by parent club Leicester City earlier this month. It is also understood that Al-Hamadi spoke with West Brom, currently led by former Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray, earlier this week, but the potential transfer fell through, allowing up other second-tier clubs to seek a deal for the Iraq international. Al-Hamadi is thought to have cost Ipswich roughly £1 million this time last year, though that figure has since increased to around £2 million due to further add-ons. Town boss Kieran McKenna has previously hinted that the club would only consider sanctioning the forward’s departure if they could first bolster their own attacking options this January.
He said: “It’s a big if. We like to have three centre-forwards in the building, or three people who are comfortable in that role. We know that we always use two in pretty much every game since I’ve been here. It’s very rare that we won’t use two strikers, and of course, if you lose one, you’re a lot shorter.
“We hope to have three forwards in the building. Hopefully, if George Hirst can get through the last portion now, we’ll have Liam [Delap], George, and Ali in the building, which puts us in a fantastic position.”If we continue like this until the conclusion of the season, we’ll have some solid alternatives. If anything changes, the situation for the guys here will undoubtedly change. At the moment, we’re hoping George returns and we’ll have all three of those. That provides us with the foundation upon which we can build.”Al-Hamadi was regarded as a possible target for Sunderland, last January after having enjoyed a prolific stint with Wimbledon during which he scored 27 goals and assisted eight more across 48 outings. The Black Cats reportedly even went as far as to register their interest in the forward, as well as sending scouts to watch him in action.
Read more on sportupdates.co.uk
Leave a Reply