Ipswich Town are ‘down the line’ on a number of potential transfer deals, with CEO Mark Ashton insisting the Blues will leave no stone unturned as they bid to improve their squad during the January transfer window.
Town currently sit second in the League One table and have given every indication they will be firmly in the promotion fight, as they bid to escape the third tier at the fourth time of asking.
With a little over a month before the winter window opens, targets have been identified with multiple moves expected.
“We know clearly the positions Kieran wants in January and he’s very specific,” Ashton said, speaking as part of a wide-ranging chat with our Kings of Anglia podcast.
“Kieran is very clear on what he wants and we’re down the line on a number of those, as you would expect us to be, but a deal’s not a deal until it’s done.
“This fanbase will know that from myself, Kieran and this recruitment staff, the one thing they can expect is that there will be activity in January.
“I don’t want to leave any stone unturned or leave anything on the table. I don’t want to be looking back at the end of the season thinking ‘if only, if only, I wish’.”
Town have already been linked with a move for Swansea attacker Morgan Whittaker, who is currently on loan at League One leaders Plymouth Argyle.
It’s understood the 21-year-old is a player Town have looked into but, as things stand, is not a prime January target.
“What helps us going into January, probably more so than this time last year, is that the world now knows how Kieran McKenna plays, we have 28,000 crowds for some games and we’re at the top of the league,” Ashton continued.
“Sometimes it isn’t about money, it’s about whether a player wants to come to League One, so it always helps that Kieran is settled, players know his style of play and they are looking at a team with a trajectory towards the Championship.”
Clubs in League One can name a maximum of 22 outfield players, aged over 21, in their squads for the season, with Ipswich submitting a list of 20 after the closure of the summer window.
“All we can do is make the right decisions at that moment in time but all of that brings challenges because we have a 22-man squad,” Ashton said.
“Forget finances, we have a 22-man squad so we know what we can fit and what we can and can’t do.
“We will have some tough decisions to make, looking at who is recovering from injury, when they are recovering from injury and whether we leave players in the 22-man squad or take them out and replace them.
“My job is to listen to what Kieran has to say and what he wants from a technical perspective, then I work with the recruitment team. I don’t identify the players, the recruitment team put the players to Kieran and then come to me and Luke Werhun (chief operating officer) to get the deals across the line.
“We have to make sure we have the depth in key positions because the games come thick and fast.”
Ashton was speaking during an interview with our Kings of Anglia podcast, in which the Town CEO discussed a wide-range of topics including the January window, a Portman Road masterplan, Ed Sheeran, a year of Kieran McKenna and the importance of promotion this season.
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