Arijanet Muric became Ipswich Town’s fifth summer signing this week. Stuart Watson analyses the state of the squad with less than a month until the big Premier League kick-off.
FIVE SO FAR
On June 30, Town kicked off their summer business with the announcement that exciting attacker Omari Hutchinson, who finished last season on fire, had returned permanently from Chelsea. It’s understood the fee is £18m with the potential to rise to £22m. The 20-year-old signed a five-year deal.
On July 1, the Blues signed right-back Ben Johnson on free transfer after he turned down a new deal at boyhood club West Ham. The 24-year-old, who had interest from several Premier League clubs, penned a four-year deal.
Last Friday night (July 12), centre-back Jacob Greaves joined from Hull City. It's believed the fee is around £15m with the potential to rise to £18m. The 23-year-old, who’s signed a five-year deal, was named in last season’s Championship Team of the Year.
The following day (July 13), Town signed striker Liam Delap from Manchester City. The fee for him is understood to be £15m with the potential to rise to £20m. The England Under-21 international has spent the last two seasons playing in the Championship via loan spells with Stoke, Preston and Hull.
On Wednesday (July 18), Town signed goalkeeper Arijanet Muric from Burnley. The fee for the 6ft 6in Kosovan international is believed to be £8m with the potential to climb above £10m with add-ons.
THE EXITS
Brandon Williams (Man Utd), Lewis Travis (Blackburn), Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton) and Kieffer Moore (Bournemouth) all saw their loans expire at the end of last season. Striker Moore has since signed for Sheffield United.
Janoi Donacien, Kayden Jackson, Dominic Ball, Panutche Camara and Nick Hayes were all released. Jackson has signed for Derby.
Vaclav Hladky was unable to agree a new contract with the club and is therefore now a free agent. Sone Aluko retired from playing and is now a first-team coach at the club.
Striker Gassan Ahadme was sold to Charlton for £1m, while midfielder Idris El Mizouni was sold to Oxford United for £400k.
SQUAD AS IT STANDS
GK: Muric, Walton, Slicker
RB: Johnson, Clarke
CB: Greaves, Woolfenden, Burgess, Tuanzebe, Edmundson, Ndaba, Baggott
LB: Davis
CM: Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Humphreys
RW: Hutchinson, Burns
AMC: Chaplin
LW: Broadhead, Harness
ST: Hirst, Delap, Al-Hamadi, Ladapo
MORE TRIMMING TO COME
It’s safe to say there will be some more exits.
Cieran Slicker has said the plan is for him to go on loan, Corrie Ndaba is likely to be sold (with recent loan club Kilmarnock keen), Elkan Baggott looks set for another temporary spell away too, while Freddie Ladapo may end up settling the final year of his contract.
Strip them away and Ipswich have a 22-man squad: Muric, Walton; Johnson, Clarke; Greaves, Woolfenden, Burgess, Tuanzebe, Edmundson; Davis; Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Humphreys; Hutchinson, Burns; Chaplin; Broadhead, Harness; Hirst, Delap, Al-Hamadi.
A reminder that Premier League teams can register a maximum of 25 ‘senior’ players for league action. Humphreys, Hutchinson and Delap won’t have to be included in that number given they were all under the age of 21 at the start of the year.
McKenna, therefore, still has six spots left to fill should he wish. And’s that’s not even taking into account the fact that some further trimming of the squad could happen.
Will George Edmundson or Marcus Harness, who struggled for game time last season, be sold or kept on for squad depth? Might Ali Al-Hamadi, who very recently was playing League Two football, be loaned out for development or kept around as a wild card option? Time will tell. There's no rush to make those decisions given the wriggle room outlined above.
BIG PRIORITIES
Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo have formed the experienced and competitive engine room which has powered Ipswich to back-to-back promotions, while Jack Taylor has shown he has an eye for a spectacular goal. With Ball and Travis having both gone, more competition and depth is required in the middle of the park though.
I’d be looking for a midfield man who provides size, bite and pure athleticism. It’s a shame the Blues couldn’t convince Flynn Downes to return to Suffolk rather than Southampton as I think he’d have been a great fit.
Personally, I think two central midfielders should be on the shopping list given Morsy and Luongo are soon to be 33 and 32 respectively. Taylor, for me, looks better suited as a No.10 rather than a No.8.
The fact the Blues tried to sign Jaden Philogene from Hull City recently shows that McKenna wants a dynamic option for the left wing (to replace Sarmiento).
As it stands, there are six players capable of playing in the three positions in behind the central striker – Hutchinson, Burns, Delap (who’s effectively replaced Jackson), Chaplin, Broadhead and Harness. Seven if you include Taylor.
Given how McKenna loves to pack his bench with attacking options, it’s not impossible that he adds two more players to this striker support unit.
Then there’s the question as to whether George Hirst, Delap and Al-Hamadi competing for the lone striker role is enough. None of them have started a Premier League game. Al-Hamadi has only started one game above third-tier level.
For me, the Blues need an experienced, well-rounded striker that can quietly mentor Hirst and Delap behind the scenes, while also making a difference on the pitch when required. Danny Ings and Che Adams are both available.
LESS OF A PRIORITY
Leif Davis is Town’s only out-and-out left-back.
Ideally, Town could do with bringing in another, but persuading someone to come in as a clear back-up option is not an easy task.
With new boys Johnson and Greaves both capable of filling in at left-back, the Blues might decide to trust in Davis’ staying power and go with what they’ve got.
Killing two birds with one stone and signing someone who can play both left-back and left-wing would be a way around this problem. Ryan Sessegnon, recently released by Tottenham, looks ideal – but he’s currently training with Crystal Palace.
Another goalkeeper may yet need to be signed too, of course, if Christian Walton, on the bench all last season, pushes for an exit following the arrival of Muric.
THE BUDGET
The five signed so far have cost a combined £56m in transfer fees - with the potential to climb to £70m.
Blues chief executive Mark Ashton did vow to be ‘brave and bold’ in preparing for the Premier League, but also insisted he won’t be ‘wild or reckless’.
“As the numbers get bigger, mistakes can be harder to recover from,” he admitted. “I always say this; You’re always one bad summer window away from a disastrous season. We’ll be methodical, we’ll be calm, we’ll be processed as we step through this.”
Realistically, I can only see one or two more decent-sized transfer fees being spent – most likely on a central midfielder and/or versatile attacker in the ‘young, hungry, technical and athletic’ bracket that McKenna targets.
Remember, the Blues still have the loan market to utilise. Premier League clubs can have a maximum of two domestic loans at any given time, but are able to add foreign loans on top of that.
STU’S VERDICT
Five in by mid-July means the Blues are working at a good pace this transfer window. But there is still work to be done.
Back at the start of June, I predicted 8-10 new signings this window and I’ll stick with that.
At a minimum, I think McKenna will sign a powerful central midfielder, dynamic attacker and experienced striker.
There’s every chance it will be more than that though.
Now more than ever, it’s a squad game. Ipswich will try and get the balance right between not leaving themselves short, but also ensuring everyone feels they are part of it.
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