Why Ipswich Town’s genius £24m spend might make them the real winners of the transfer window
There are plenty of problems with transfer windows these days, from spiralling agent fees to the lengthening tendrils
of global ownership groups, but those are conversations for another day. Perhaps the most immediate problem for
most fans is figuring out whether the business that’s been done was actually worthwhile. There are always ‘winners’
and ‘losers’ of every window, but it can take weeks, even months and years, for all those deals to bear fruit, even
when it turns out to be rotten.
Still, supporters understandably demand rapid insight into whether their team’s chances have been boosted by their
new recruits, especially when the stakes are high – thankfully, there are occasions when a team’s work is, on paper at
least, plainly intelligent or wrong-headed. We’ve already raised our eyebrow at the decisions made by our call for
the biggest ‘loser’ of the January transfer window, so it’s only right to praise the work done by the team we think
made the smartest moves. Ipswich Town just so happens to be there.
It would be a major understatement to suggest that Kieran McKenna’s team had a pivotal transfer window. They
have an uphill task to prolong their stay in the top division after a recent 2-1 loss to fellow promoted team
Southampton has begun to dull some of their strong early-season performances. For a team that had just been
promoted, the roster was decent, but there were some obvious problems that needed to be fixed, and they were.
How Ipswich faced up to hard truths in the transfer window
To begin with, they have a new goalie, which was possibly their largest acquisition to date. The deadline-day arrival
of Alex Palmer from West Brom might be a significant boost because Christian Walton, who replaced Aro Muric, has
an inconsistent record as a starter and was responsible for a succession of expensive ricks.
Palmer’s record in the second division is very outstanding, as he won the Championship Golden Glove award for the
2023–24 season after maintaining 18 clean sheets despite never having played in the Premier League. With a sum of
almost £4 million, Ipswich has probably improved their team in a crucial position without going over budget because
he is a good shot stopper, comfortable playing outside of his area, and reliable against the high ball.
The fact that the Tractor Boys seem to have avoided getting themselves stuck in denial about their weaknesses could
be crucial. Other teams seem determined not to make hard decisions – just look at Arsenal’s half-hearted attempts to
sign a new striker – but Ipswich have assessed an issue and made an attempt to fix it
Similarly, they needed more experience and solidity across the back line, and therefore snapped up former Everton
defender Ben Godfrey on loan from Atalanta. Godfrey has had mixed results in the Premier League so far and may
not be a transformational signing, but he reads the game well and is comfortable dealing with players running at him
with the ball at their feet while also having the pace and anticipation to deal with deep balls over his head.
The other major flaw Ipswich had to work on was their ability to break through opposing midiflelds. They have pace
up top through Liam Delap and both guile and directness down the flanks – which will be further boosted by the
£20m purchase of Jaden Philogene from Aston Villa – but were guilty of getting outmatched and bogged down in the
middle of the park. They needed a player who can break the lines either with their passing or with the ball at their
feet, and may have found that player in Julio Enciso.
The 21-year-old Paraguayan, who arrives on loan from Brighton, looked dangerous when he started breaking
through at the Amex Stadium, scoring four goals and assisting two more in the 2022/23 season despite only playing
the equivalent of nine full matches’ worth of minutes – but he missed half of the 2023/24 campaign through a nasty
knee injury, and has found his game time limited by Brighton’s many other deft attacking midfielders.
If he can get back up to speed swiftly at Portman Road, they will get a potent ball carrier who knows how to beat a
man with the ball at his feet and who is capable of playing killer balls in behind, while also posing a threat when
getting into the box himself. There is no guarantee that he will hit his straps quickly enough, but he is a player who
can offer some of the quick verticality through the centre that Ipswich need to make the most out of their pacy,
dynamic forwards.
McKenna has attempted to play Sammie Szmodics in behind Delap, having the play go through him rather than
making him the last man on the end of chances, as he did at Blackburn Rovers. This has prevented the £11 million
summer acquisition, who was purchased to be the first-choice number ten, from succeeding in the Premier League.
Last year, Szmodics led the line as a false nine and was deadly.
He has just not been as successful as a slightly more conventional number 10. Although he is a goal scorer rather
than a creator, it makes more sense to use a player like Enciso in the pockets behind Delap if he is going to be the
main offensive target.
Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply