Ipswich Town will be able to register 25 senior players for their 2023/24 Championship campaign. Stuart Watson takes a look at how that might shape up.
RULES REMINDER
In League One, Town could register a maximum of 22 senior players. In the Championship, they can name 25.
So more room for manoeuvre, right? Not quite.
In League One, all goalkeepers and players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year were exempt. In the Championship, goalkeepers count towards the limit, as do all loan players – regardless of age.
SUMMER SO FAR
Town released senior quartet Matt Penney, Richard Keogh, Kane Vincent-Young and Joel Coleman at the end of last season.
Tyreece John-Jules and George Hirst went back to their parent clubs, while Elkan Baggott, Corrie Ndaba, Gassan Ahadme, Joe Pigott and Tete Yengi returned from loan spells.
Ndaba (Kilmarnock) and Ahadme (Cambridge United) have already been loaned out again, while Rekeem Harper’s has been contract by mutual consent (he has since signed for Burton).
There’s been just one new arrival so far in the form of midfielder Jack Taylor (Peterborough, £1.5m).
SQUAD AS IT STANDS
Right now, Town have 28 players that fall within the criteria of needing to be registered (ages in brackets).
They are:
1 Christian Walton (27)
2 Vaclav Hladky (32)
3 Nick Hayes (24)
4 Harry Clarke (22)
5 Janoi Donacien (29)
6 Luke Woolfenden (24)
7 Cameron Burgess (27)
8 George Edmundson (25)
9 Leif Davis (23)
10 Greg Leigh (28)
11 Sam Morsy (31)
12 Jack Taylor (25)
13 Massimo Luongo (30)
14 Dominic Ball (27)
15 Panutche Camara (26)
16 Lee Evans (28)
17 Idris El Mizouni (22)
18 Wes Burns (28)
19 Kayden Jackson (29)
20 Conor Chaplin (26)
21 Sone Aluko (34)
22 Nathan Broadhead (25)
23 Kyle Edwards (25)
24 Marcus Harness (27)
25 Freddie Ladapo (30)
26 Joe Pigott (29)
27 Tete Yengi (22)
Exempt: Elkan Baggott (20), Cameron Humphreys (19)
HOW MANY MORE?
Kieran McKenna has made it clear he wants to strengthen his squad further ahead of a step up to the Championship.
Speaking after Saturday’s 6-0 friendly win at Felixstowe & Walton United, the Blues boss said: “We want plenty of depth. It's about adding different qualities.
“We feel that we can still improve the squad and that's what we're trying to do. We're looking at a few different positions across the pitch."
At least one out-and-striker to compete with Ladapo will be top priority. Ellis Simms (Everton) and Sam Surridge (Nottingham Forest) are both players understood to be of interest, while there’s potential for Hirst to return.
A versatile winger/forward is likely to be on the shopping list – Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (Crystal Palace) is a known target.
And an experienced centre-half is going to be needed too – recently released Watford man Craig Cathcart is an option currently being discussed.
Let’s say McKenna adds four more senior players to his squad. That would take the above list up to 31.
WHO WON’T MAKE THE CUT?
The above scenario would mean six of the current group would need to be cut.
McKenna has confirmed that El Mizouni will be going out on loan. It’s likely that Yengi will also have another temporary spell away.
It’s also highly likely that Pigott will be heading for the exit door. It wouldn’t surprise me if his contract was terminated in the same way Harper’s was.
I’d imagine third-choice keeper Nick Hayes might not be registered. If Walton and Hladky were both unavailable at some stage then Town would be allowed to bring in an emergency loan keeper for seven days.
That brings us down to 27 – and this is where things get much harder to call.
My gut feeling is that Camara, whose debut season at Town was effectively wiped out through repeated groin injuries, will be loaned out to get fully fit again.
And then I’ve got a question mark next to three players.
With so many midfield options, might Evans be allowed to move on? For me, his long-range passing skills would be good to have in the armoury at second-tier level. But he’s had a few injury set-backs, is now in the final year of his contract and Ipswich could arguably redeploy his wages in a more important area of the squad. There are Financial Fair Play rules to work within, remember.
What about Leigh? The athletic left-back was a reliable back-up option to Davis last season and seems a low maintenance, positive character. If a League One club offers him a longer contract and guaranteed game time though, Ipswich could be tempted to cash in and use the versatile Donacien as cover for both full-back roles.
Of the attacking unit, could Harness be in danger of ending up without a chair when the music stops? Broadhead has that inside left forward role locked down, Aluko’s recently signed a new deal, Edwards’ dribbling ability gives him a uniqueness, while McKenna has spoken of using Taylor in an advanced position.
It would be harsh on any of Leigh, Evans or Harness if they were to go, given the roles they played in last season’s success, but some tough decisions are going to have to be made if McKenna lands the players he wants.
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