Ipswich Town: Players with a point to prove in Championship

A week ago, I looked at which Town players could be stars in the Championship.

Today, it's a different take - these are players I believe will feel they have a point to prove in the second tier, for one reason or another.

Again, in no particular order, other than their positions on the pitch...

Cameron Burgess bounced back from a serious facial injury to play a key role for Town last season (Image: Ross Halls)

Cameron Burgess

The big Scot spent last season proving his doubters - me included - wrong with a series of mighty displays at the back as he teamed with Luke Woolfenden to form a Blue wall at the heart of defence and help set a clean sheets record.

He's one of a number of players who have been rejuvenated under McKenna, with that dark night at Barrow in the FA Cup seeming a long time ago now.

Showed incredible mental strength last season too, returning from having his cheek and eye socket smashed in a game against Bristol Rovers in September and playing with more than 30 screws in his face after surgery - which, for a man who has to head the ball a lot, is admirable.

But he's only played four games at Championship level in his career - and they were in 2014/15.

Will his old limitations be exposed in the second tier? Burgess will surely be fired up to prove that he's a different player now, and more than capable of making the step up. 

George Edmundson has had two straight seasons cut short by injury (Image: Steve Waller)

George Edmundson

The absolute unit of a defender was one of the first names on the team sheet not too long ago, but has now had two consecutive seasons ended by an ankle injury.

Like so many of Town's players, the man they call Fridge has thrown himself into life off the pitch, winning an award for his community work, but it's on the pitch that the charismatic 25-year-old now needs to get back on track.

Like Burgess - and Woolfenden - Edmundson doesn't have a lot of experience at Championship level, having played ten games for Derby County as they battled relegation in the second tier back in 2021. 

He has, of course, got pedigree from a spell at Rangers though.

So, Edmundson will likely enter the season as a back-up, with multiple points to prove - can he recover fully from another injury? Can he win his starting job back? And can he be a force in the Championship? 

Wes Burns has been one of Town's brightest stars in the past two seasons (Image: Ross Halls)

Wes Burns

On paper, this probably seems an odd pick. Burns has been one of Town's big ballers of the last two seasons, and could easily have made my potential stars list last week.

Followed up his multiple award-winning season of 2021/22 with 13 assists and nine goals last campaign as his marauding, exciting play pushed Town to promotion.

So, why's he on this list? Well, firstly we know he's already battling an injury this summer, with a groin issue keeping him out of international action with Wales. Hopefully, that will all be resolved quickly.

Secondly, and more importantly, for all the success the flying winger has had with Town in League One, he's yet to excel in the Championship.

You have to go back to 2015/16 for the last time Burns played in the second tier, scoring one goal in two starts and 19 sub appearances for Bristol City. 

So, can he make the step up and succeed against faster, more athletic players in the Championship? Recent history suggests he can - but he's got to prove it.

Lee Evans has had a series of knee injuries (Image: Ross Halls)

Lee Evans

Unlike the first three on this list, there can be no doubt that Evans is capable of playing, and playing well, in the Championship.

The Welshman has already made almost 100 career starts in the second tier for Wolves, Sheffield United and Wigan.

The reason he's here is simple - injury. 

After having his 2021/22 campaign cut short by a knee injury, Evans was having a cracking bounce back season - until injury struck again, with another knee issue meaning he didn't play for the Blues after February 4 last term.

Knees are a notoriously tricky injury for footballers to return from, so there has to be questions around Evans heading into 23/24.

Fitness aside, the 28-year-old then has to force his way back into the starting line-up, with Massimo Luongo really impressing alongside Sam Morsy in his absence.

Dominic Ball made a swift return from injury last season - so can he go and make himself a starter in 2023/24?

Dominic Ball

For Ball, see Evans - it's a similar tale. Like Evans, Ball has shown he can play in the Championship, with 79 starts for QPR.

But also like Evans, Ball is returning from injury ahead of 2023/24. 

It's not quite the same as Evans in that Ball was back on the grass and playing for Town before the end of last season.

He made a remarkable recovery from a knee injury which we were told would end his season in November, returning in March and coming off the bench in seven games before starting the season finale at Fleetwood.

So, this summer will be about consolidating that recovery and working towards becoming what we all thought he could be in 2022/23 - a starting midfielder for Town.

Marcus Harness scored eight goals for Town last season (Image: Ross Halls)

Marcus Harness

Harness, by any measurement, had a decent campaign in 2022/23, scoring eight goals (it should have been nine, obviously) in 47 games and featuring at some point in most of Town's clashes.

But the 27-year-old lost his starting job to the exceptional Nathan Broadhead, and thus enters the summer, and next season, with a couple of points to prove.

One, can he play in the Championship? He's played ten games in the second tier in his career so far, all off the bench, for Burton in 2016/17.

And two, can he force his way into the starting XI again in 2023/24?

While he'll surely start as a back-up to Broadhead on the left, Harness can also play on the right and down the middle - can he find a way in somewhere?

It looks a big challenge, but the man who's a high-level martial artist away from the pitch - holding the rank of purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu - will be up for the scrap. 

Freddie Ladapo scored 21 goals in his first season with Town (Image: Steve Waller)

Freddie Ladapo

My final man with a point to prove, Ladapo is coming off a debut season at Town where he scored 21 goals, despite only starting 26 of his 53 appearances.

That's a mighty impressive return, and yet Ladapo found himself somewhat overshadowed by January loan signing George Hirst, and now enters a summer where everyone - including us - is suggesting Town need to find a starting striker.

Big Fred has also shown he can play, and score, in the Championship, bagging nine goals for relegated Rotherham in 2020/21.

So, can the striker - who improved massively under McKenna last season - take another step forward again and prove the doubters wrong by being THE man for Town in the second tier?

It's going to be fascinating to find out.