Ipswich Town have been busy in the transfer market once again this January as the mid-season window ends ahead of the second half of the campaign.
It marks the third transfer window under the management of Kieran McKenna, who has now fully assembled a squad of his own in a bid to maintain Town’s promotion push in League One this campaign.
After what had been an excellent start to the season, Ipswich found themselves dropping off slightly over the Christmas period as the Blues look to maintain the pace with current promotion frontrunners Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday.
Ordinarily, Ipswich’s points tally at this stage would see them firmly in the top two positions but they have found themselves chasing as a result of the excellence of the Pilgrims and the Owls.
At least one of three teams mentioned will miss out on automatic promotion this season, while Derby County can not be ruled out of the race as they rapidly close the gap behind.
Ipswich chief executive Mark Ashton vowed to leave no stone unturned in this window and delivered on his promise with four arrivals to Portman Road this month that highlighted the club were not afraid to splash the cash once again.
Here is an assessment of Town’s January activity.
Incomings
Massimo Luongo
Midfielder Massimo Luongo became the first signing of the window on January 5, but had been training with the Ipswich squad since before Christmas.
Luongo signed a short-term contract until the end of the season after his release from Middlesbrough, where he failed to make an appearance in the first half of the campaign.
The 30-year-old was notably a key member of the Sheffield Wednesday squad that reached the League One play-offs last season, but rejected a new contract to pursue ventures elsewhere following three years at Hillsborough.
Town were reported to have been interested in Peterborough United midfielder Jack Taylor. However, it became clear that Posh had too heavy a price tag on their man and Ipswich saw Luongo as a suitable and cheaper alternative.
Ipswich is not new to Luongo, after featuring 11 times for the Blues on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012.
“It’s been 10 years or so since I was here before and it’s great to be back,” Luongo said upon his return to the club.
“I want to be in a team that’s doing well and I think that this is a good opportunity here. I’m delighted to get the deal done and now I’m focused on helping the team get promotion.”
The Australian international, who has been capped 43 times by the Socceroos, comes into a midfield unit that is without Dominic Ball and Panutche Camará, who are both sidelined until the end of the season with knee and groin injuries respectively.
Captain Sam Morsy and Lee Evans have been the midfield pair, so Luongo’s arrival will be seen as extra cover and to alleviate some of the pressure on Cameron Humphreys.
He finally made his long-awaited second debut for Ipswich against Burnley last week, 3,766 days after his previous Blues appearance.
George Hirst
Next through the door was the arrival of Leicester City forward George Hirst on loan until the end of the season.
Ipswich went into January in search of a striker and swooped for a man they had been targeting since the summer, when Hirst ultimately joined Championship side Blackburn Rovers on loan.
That temporary switch did not work out, though, and the 6’3” frontman was soon back in negotiation with the Ipswich hierarchy, who had been monitoring his progress since a successful spell at Portsmouth yielded 15 goals last season.
“There was quite a lot of contact between me and Ipswich last summer,” Hirst said upon signing. “I obviously ended up going to Blackburn and it was a pretty tough decision.
“I spoke to the gaffer here but I wanted to go and test myself at that level, the Championship, and I felt I could make it there, although it didn’t pan out that way.
“The gaffer understood my decision but when I heard they were still interested in bringing me to the club it was a no-brainer for me.”
Manager McKenna added: “I think it's well-documented that he’s a player we've liked for a while. I think his profile really fits us and all aspects really. He's young but with some experience and good pedigree of coming from a big club.”
Seen as fresh competition for incumbent striker Freddie Ladapo, Hirst is likely to be rotated with the Blues’ number nine as the pair look to push each other for the remainder of the season.
Ladapo has taken to his new challenge well, recently scoring twice in an excellent performance against Morecambe and earning the club’s January Player of the Month award.
Hirst, whose father David scored more than 100 goals for Sheffield Wednesday, was spotted watching on from the stands in Town’s FA Cup victory over Rotherham United and his arrival was sealed just 24 hours later.
At the second time of asking, McKenna had got his man.
Nathan Broadhead
Ipswich were not messing around and by January 9, they had their third arrival of the month.
Nathan Broadhead was signed from Everton for a reported fee of £1.5 million, the highest under the current ownership group.
The Welshman, who had spent the first half of the season on loan at Wigan Athletic, signed a three-and-a-half-year contract.
Broadhead is no stranger to scoring goals at League One level after netting 10 goals in an injury hit season to guide Sunderland back to the Championship last campaign. He’ll be hoping to do something similar with Ipswich.
He also scored five goals in the Championship for Wigan before his loan was cut short by the Toffees in order to raise some funds and sell him on a permanent basis to the Blues.
Just a look on social media will tell you that Latics fans were disappointed to see Broadhead leave the club, which is always a good sign for a new arrival. He is not short of talent.
The 24-year-old is exactly the type of player McKenna and Ipswich fans will love. His versatility means he can be deployed as a central striker or out wide.
In his short time in an Ipswich shirt so far, he has looked bright and has been utilised on the left of Town’s attacking unit. He is likely to be providing stiff competition for Marcus Harness.
It is an embarrassment of riches at the top end of the pitch, with the likes of Conor Chaplin, Sone Aluko and Kyle Edwards all occupying similar roles.
Describing Broadhead, McKenna said: “He really fits the profile of what we want to bring to the club and where we want to go.
“He’s a young, talented player physically and technically. He’s very gifted and fits into our playing style very well.
“He’s also at a stage of his career where he feels like it’s time to find a permanent home for his football.
“He’s come to a progressive team and a progressive club. We want to play a certain style of football and will give him opportunities to showcase what he can do.”
A real statement signing.
Harry Clarke
Ipswich had bolstered their midfield and their attack. It was time to bolster their defence.
Harry Clarke was signed on a three-and-a-half-year deal from Arsenal, following his loan at Stoke City being cut short.
The chequebook was well and truly out, with the fee reported to be in the region of £1 million for the former Ipswich academy man who returned to the club where he scored a viral ‘Barcelona-esque’ goal for the U14 side in 2014.
At just 21 years of age, Clarke clearly has a high ceiling, and his versatility is again a key attraction to McKenna, who could utilise the defender as a centre-back, right-back, or right wing-back.
Many named him as their Player of the Match on his full debut for the club against Morecambe last week.
Janoi Donacien, who has largely been excellent for the Blues over the last 18 months, appears to be under the most threat by Clarke’s arrival.
A Suffolk boy, Clarke is proud to be back and credits McKenna for his decision to return to where it all began.
A nice touch, too, in that he opted to wear the number 34 shirt in tribute to his grandfather and former Town player Terry, who was born in 1934.
At the time of signing, he said: “I’m home and it feels good. The style of play is something I really like and I want to be a part of it.
“The conversations with the manager have been great and he solidified my decision to come back. I can’t wait to step out of the tunnel at Portman Road, it will be an amazing feeling.”
Everybody loves a local lad, and if his full debut is anything to go by, Clarke could soon find himself as a fan favourite at Portman Road.
Loaned out
One of the more remarkable aspects of Ipswich’s January is that, despite the arrivals, there were no permanent departures from the club.
The only outgoing business at Portman Road was in the form of loan deals. Three of those that did find new clubs were previously out on loan elsewhere during the first half of the season.
First was defender Elkan Baggott, who was recalled by Town from his loan at League Two side Gillingham in order to be sent immediately to Cheltenham Town in League One.
Baggott impressed at the Gills, featuring 29 times in all competitions and scoring three goals. He was highly rated by manager Neil Harris.
But the Indonesian international has switched to Gloucestershire for the next stage in his development where he will hope to experience regular game time in League One.
It is a good move for the 20-year-old, who is highly thought of at Ipswich having signed a new deal to the summer of 2025 last June.
Left-back Matt Penney also switched loan clubs this month after his temporary spell at Scottish Premiership side Motherwell came to an end after 18 appearances.
Penney has joined fellow League One side Charlton Athletic until the end of the season, despite the Steelmen wanting to keep hold of the 26-year-old.
His Ipswich contract is up in June, although the club hold the option of an extra year, so it appears likely that Penney has played his final game for the Blues and a permanent departure is on the cards this summer.
Last year’s recruits of Leif Davis and Greg Leigh looked to have put the writing on the wall of Penney’s career in Suffolk after 26 appearances.
On Deadline Day, three further loan exits were confirmed.
Irish defender Corrie Ndaba swapped his loan at Burton Albion for a spell at Fleetwood Town after making 11 appearances for the Brewers in an injury-hit first half of the season.
The 23-year-old is still yet to make his league debut for Ipswich despite being involved in multiple pre-seasons before loan spells at Ayr United and Salford City in recent years.
The centre-back remains highly rated at Portman Road having signed a three-year contract last summer.
The self-proclaimed ‘strongest in the EFL’ will hope to return to Suffolk in the summer with a point to prove and more senior minutes under his belt.
Tete Yengi will make his first steps in English football on loan at Northampton Town after the striker joined the Cobblers until the end of the season.
The 22-year-old Australian, who also signed a fresh 18-month contract before leaving on loan, is yet to play for Ipswich’s first-team since signing from Newcastle Jets in 2021.
Yengi scored eight goals last season on loan at Finnish top-flight side Vaasan Palloseura and has regularly featured for the Tractor Boys’ under-21s since returning to Suffolk.
The final loan departure came late in the day with Gassan Ahadme returning to former club Burton for the remainder of the season.
It was a move that had been spoken about for the entirety of the month with already limited gametime for the Moroccan being cut further with the arrivals of Hirst and Broadhead.
The 22-year-old returns to the Brewers having scored on his only start among eight appearances since joining on Deadline Day last summer.
Ahadme scored eight goals for the Staffordshire side, including five in just eight appearances earlier this season before his move to Ipswich.
Extending his stay
There was also some in-house business for Ipswich to deal with this month.
Midfielder Humphreys signed a new and improved long-term contract to take his stay at the club through to the summer of 2026.
It was a fine reward for the teenager, who only signed a three-year contract last June, after an impressive breakthrough season has seen him make take his total number of first-team appearances to 22.
Humphreys has become a regular in the Blues’ senior squad and provided encouraging cover for when Evans was injured earlier in the season. He did not look out of place at all.
Three goals have also come his way, including two in consecutive matches at the start of January.
The club are working in a proactive manner, and it is excellent to see one of their home-grown talents getting rewarded for some fine work at the youthful age of 19.
“There’s nothing better than seeing someone who has come through your academy and who has been here for so long making an impact in the first team,” McKenna said recently of Humphreys.
“His humility, his attitude to learn, his work-rate and the intelligence to pick things up is a big part of his ability. It’s a credit to Cameron, to his family and to the people who have worked with him through his development years.”
Other than those previously mentioned, Aluko, Donacien, Richard Keogh and Kane Vincent-Young all have contracts expiring at the end of the season.
Town hold a one-year option on both Donacien and Vincent-Young.
Verdict
Ashton made sure that Ipswich did their business early.
The four arrivals all bring something different and something that was desperately needed. It was smart from all involved.
Luongo filled a gap in midfield that was needed due to the injuries to Camara and Ball. Evans has spent some of the season sidelined and Morsy is always a suspension away from missing a few matches.
Hirst will provide much-needed competition to Ladapo up front and is a player that Ipswich have been pursuing for some time after failing to sign the frontman last summer.
Broadhead becomes the most expensive signing of the current regime and brings versatility and League One goalscoring experience while also an excellent age at 24 years old.
Clarke is a signing that is guaranteed to get all Ipswich fans talking about. An Ipswich boy returning to his boyhood club for another substantial fee to tighten up the defence.
He also brings versatility and will likely be a starter going forward. Young and strong, he has all the characteristics he needs to succeed in the blue of Ipswich.
There has already been talk about the prospect of becoming a cult hero at Portman Road.
In terms of departures, the Blues are not in a financial position where they need to sell anybody.
That is exactly the message that the board have sent out to other clubs with no permanent outgoings during the January window.
That is despite interest from Hull City for winger Edwards, but Town were said to have rebuffed a bid.
Edwards is unlikely to be given a large number of minutes due to heavy traffic in forward areas, but Ipswich clearly still see a future in the former West Bromwich Albion man and were keen to keep hold of the talented wideman.
The Deadline Day departure of Ahadme was great for all parties. He was simply not going to play for Ipswich and needed game time to help his development in his young career.
FIFA’s two-club rule meant that the Brewers were the only other club who Ahadme was eligible to play for, so a move elsewhere would not have been possible.
It looked as though talks had stalled, but a deal was able to get sorted and Ahadme will hope to revitalise some form in League One and help Burton avoid relegation to League Two.
Ipswich’s squad size, though, may become an issue. It is big.
They will have no problem meeting the EFL’s 22-man squad limit, with two spaces available going into the window. Ball or Camara will likely be deregistered with three slots being filled by January’s arrivals. Clarke, due to his age, does not count towards this limit.
But there are 25 fit senior players at the club. That means seven players will not make a matchday squad, let alone the starting XI.
Man management will be key for McKenna to deal with during the second half of the season. The Ipswich boss has already begun a system of bench rotation in a bid to keep as many players happy as possible.
That is before you factor in Arsenal loanee Tyreece John-Jules, who is expected to return from a hamstring injury in March.
The squad depth can only be a good thing, though, as Ipswich look to earn promotion back to the Championship at the fourth time of asking.
It will take a strong push, but the January window has been a success for the Blues, and they will hope their new additions are able to get them over the line in the final 18 league matches.
It has been an excellent window.