End of the line: Ipswich’s “outrageous” talent cannot be trusted to play for McKenna – opinion

It’s been a whirlwind few years for Ipswich Town, as Kieran McKenna has led them from the depths of League One to the heights of the Premier League in the blink of an eye.

The Tractor Boys have made a good account of themselves in the top flight so far, as while they are without a win, they have picked up five points.

Moreover, a few of the club’s summer signings have quickly established themselves as key players for McKenna and look like brilliant buys.

However, that cannot be said of all of them, including one who simply cannot be trusted to play for the first team again this season.

McKenna’s brilliant buys

So, before we get to the offending player in question, let’s look at a couple of the club’s more successful signings this season, starting with the best of the lot: Liam Delap.

The Tractor Boys agreed to pay Manchester City up to £20m for the up-and-coming striker in mid-July, and while there was some excitement around the potential so many believed him to possess, few would have expected him to play as well as he has for the Suffolk side.

In just 11 appearances, the Winchester-born poacher has scored five goals, including a brace against Aston Villa, and if the club are to beat the drop this season, it’ll undoubtedly be largely down to his impressive output.

Now, another star that McKenna welcomed to Portman Road this summer is Sammie Szmodics, and while he hasn’t been able to quite replicate the ludicrous form that saw him rack up 33 goals and four assists in 48 games last season, he’s shown glimpses of quality here and there.

For example, he’s found the back of the net twice in ten appearances from an expected goals figure of 2.01 and, given that he’s missed three big chances on top of that, he could see his tally balloon when he’s fully acclimated to life with the Blues.

However, alongside some of their excellent to middling transfers, the club also made what is now looking like a poor decision to sign another vastly experienced star on loan, a star who might not play for the club again.

Ipswich’s transfer mistake

So, the player in question is Manchester City ace Kalvin Phillips, who put pen to paper on a season-long loan deal in mid-August.

The first thing to say is that even though he has had a rough few years, the former Leeds United star showed just how talented he was when playing with the Peacocks, and only last year John Stones commented on his “outrageous” passing abilities.

However, in the last few years, we have not seen the player who starred for the Whites.

The 28-year-old seriously struggled on loan with West Ham United last season, playing just 320 minutes across 14 poor performances that saw him pick up a red card in just his fourth game before ending the season out of the squad entirely.

Unfortunately, his form has not improved much this season, and despite making just eight appearances for the club, he has already picked up a red car, which completely turned the tide of the game against Leicester City on Saturday.

Moreover, reports have now revealed that discussions are being held at the club over potentially cancelling his loan deal due to serious concerns over his conditioning, with some at the club supposedly “amazed” at his ‘lack of mobility and running power.’

Ultimately, Phillips has shown in the past that he is a Premier League-level footballer, but so far this season, he has looked way off the pace, and after costing the club what should have been their first win of the season, he shouldn’t be trusted to play in the league again.