Take, for instance, the trio of clubs who went up last term; Sheffield United, Burnley, and Luton Town. The Blades brought in Cameron Archer, Gustavo Hamer, Vinicius Souza, Auston Trusty, Anis Slimane, Yasser Larouci, Benie Traore, and Tom Davies, while the Clarets signed James Trafford, Jordan Beyer, Sander Berge, Dara O’Shea, Michael Obafemi, Lawrence Vigouroux, Zeki Amdouni, Nathan Redmond, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Hannes Delcroix. Very few of those names ever truly felt as if they were capable of introducing the quality needed to successfully beat the drop.
It’s a savvy blueprint, and one that could yield impressive results if it all comes together in a similar manner to the meteoric rise that we have seen at Portman Road in recent seasons. It also puts the work of other newly-promoted sides in campaigns past to shame.
Take, for instance, the trio of clubs who went up last term; Sheffield United, Burnley, and Luton Town. The Blades brought in Cameron Archer, Gustavo Hamer, Vinicius Souza, Auston Trusty, Anis Slimane, Yasser Larouci, Benie Traore, and Tom Davies, while the Clarets signed James Trafford, Jordan Beyer, Sander Berge, Dara O’Shea, Michael Obafemi, Lawrence Vigouroux, Zeki Amdouni, Nathan Redmond, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Hannes Delcroix. Very few of those names ever truly felt as if they were capable of introducing the quality needed to successfully beat the drop.
Interestingly, for their part, Luton went down a route more similar to the one that Ipswich are taking, signing a glut of players who had shown their pedigree in the Championship in the hope that they could make the step up to Premier League football. It very nearly worked too, with the Hatters right there in the hunt for survival until the final week or two of the campaign. The key difference, however, was that Luton were not able to spend anywhere near as much as the Tractor Boys are planning to; altogether they forked out somewhere in the region of £20 million on new players – barely more than Ipswich have already paid for Hutchinson alone.
All of this is to say that the board at Portman Road are conducting their business well; seeking out real gems while ensuring that the requisite funds are available to fend off established Premier League competition for their signatures. It is a strategy that should elevate Ipswich beyond the recruitment capabilities of your average promoted cannon fodder, and if all goes to plan, then it could also be more than enough to keep them in the top flight not just next year, but for years to come.
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