Ipswich Town: Ben Godfrey on Portman Road switch and Kieran McKenna.

Ben Godfrey, Ipswich Town’s first signing of the January transfer window, has previously worked for some fantastic managers. Things haven’t gone well at parent club Atalanta, but he commended Gian Piero Gasperini for the intensity of his training sessions. He also worked alongside Carlo Ancelotti at Everton. The 65-year-old is currently at Real Madrid, where he has convincingly won every title available to him, and Godfrey is unsurprised by his success with the Galacticos. “He signed me from Norwich,” the 27-year-old explained. “He’s a genuinely laid-back character and a lovely man. His record and accomplishments speak for itself as a player and manager.

“It was nice to work with him, and to be honest, we were performing well that season [2020/21]. I believe his ideas were very successful in the Premier League that season. “Then he moved to Real Madrid, and I wish him the best. “I hooked up with him at a UEFA Super Cup game the other month. He checks in and asks how my family is doing, things like that. “He’s a top guy.” As a result, Godfrey’s expectations of managers are high. He’s had the privilege of working with some of the finest, and he’s optimistic that Town manager Kieran McKenna will join that group.

Before his loan move to Ipswich was confirmed, reports suggested that eight clubs were keen to sign him this month, but that talks with McKenna ultimately convinced him that Suffolk was the place for him to be.

“It was massive,” Godfrey said about the manager’s influence on his decision. “The times that I spoke to him, I felt the sense of being wanted. I knew that he’d be welcoming, and that’s a big thing in football, to be wanted. I think it does a lot for your confidence as a player.

The 27-year-old revealed that Kieran McKenna played a big part in his decision to move to Portman Road (Image: Steve Waller)

“Then onto tactical things, he showed me what he’d expect from me and how he’d want me to play. Obviously I’d watched Ipswich, but he showed me clips and the patterns that we worked through. I just thought that, with the detail he went into, it’d be another step in the right direction for me in terms of improving as a player.

“You know his coaching history, he’s coached some great players. I’ve actually spoken to those players previously. They speak about him in a really positive way.

“As soon as I got off that call with him, I was speaking to my family and said that this is the place to be.”

It can’t have been an easy decision for Godfrey, especially with his links to Town’s arch-rivals, Norwich.

He spent four years at Carrow Road, having joined from York City in 2016. The Canaries gave him the platform to break into the first team and he subsequently went on to help them secure promotion to the Premier League.

For Godfrey, that spell is all in the past now, and his focus is solely on Ipswich.

“Quite a lot of players that I played with there have moved on,” he argued. “I met some great people.

“It’s well known that I was a Norwich player, but that’s football. Players move on and I’m an Ipswich Town player. My job here is to do my best for this club.”

It’s rare for a new arrival to have East Anglian derby experience, but that’s what Godfrey boasts, having featured in both games in the 2018/19 campaign. That was the season that saw Norwich win the Championship title while Ipswich were relegated to League One.

“The derby means a lot to people in this area of the country,” he stated. “I remember years ago that it was an exciting day to play in a derby game. They are the games that you want to play in, regardless of what team you play for. Derby days are always special.

Godfrey competed in two East Anglian derbies for Norwich City. (Image: PA.) “The first one I played in was at Portman Road, and we tied 1-1. The second game, I believe Norwich won at Carrow Road. These were the two derbies I participated in. “They both had good atmospheres and were good days.” This season has been difficult for Godfrey, who has barely kicked a ball since joining Atalanta from Everton last season. His relocation to Italy was always going to be difficult, but his lack of minutes made it even more difficult for him to adjust. “I think that the last six months for me have highlighted football, in the sense that it’s not all smooth,” he told me. “Not everything, every day, can go your way. As an English lad, to be chucked abroad and for things not to work out, that’s deep water.

“You might say I was thrown into the deep end, but it was my choice. “I’ve definitely grown more resilient. When things don’t go my way, I believe in myself and keep moving forward. Godfrey now speaks Italian fluently, despite having worked hard on his Spanish prior to moving to Bergamo. “I learnt it for absolutely no reason at all,” he exclaimed with laughter. “I don’t get much use out of it in Yorkshire. “I decided to learn it for just over a year and then ended up going to Italy, so I had to start again.”Asked whether he was instead aiming for a move to La Liga last summer, Godfrey joked: “No, me and Ancelotti are in touch, but we’re not that tight.”

The defender served under Carlo Ancelotti at Everton. (Image: PA.) Although sport runs in Godfrey’s family, there was no certainty that football would be his route. “I have a background in Rugby League and I played rugby before football,” he told me. “My father played rugby, and he usually tends to get mentioned in my interviews, which he’ll be excited about. “My family is huge followers of the rugby league. I was the wise one who made the right choice to go to football.” Perhaps the experience in a physical, aggressive sport will be beneficial. After all, he now has to face Liam Delap in training, which is no easy task for any defender.

“He’s good,” Godfrey explained. “He’s got a terrific football intellect and the athletic characteristics. He’s still young; he’ll tell you that he’s still learning, and I believe the most important thing is that he’s still eager to do so. “He does not go around thinking he is the finished article. He has clearly hit the ground running this season, but he still wants more. I am confident he will do that.” Godfrey, who earned his debut in last weekend’s 3-0 triumph over Bristol Rovers, is now ready to go. He reveals that he sees himself fitting in on the right side of Ipswich’s defence, but thinks that his adaptability will allow him to maximise his minutes.

Ben Godfrey impressed in his debut last weekend (Photo by Steve Waller).His squad number of 44 raises some concerns, since he replaces previous fan favourite Janoi Donacien, who signed with League Two team Chesterfield earlier this week. Why chose such a large number? “22 and four were my favourite numbers, so it’s two fours and double 22,” he revealed to me. “It’s the closest thing I could get!”

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