Ipswich Town are already eyeing up a potential January addition as they look to secure their Premier League survival come the end of the season, with a Premier League midfielder reportedly on their radar.
Ipswich pick up first win of Premier League season
Kieran McKenna’s side picked up a memorable first win of the Premier League season as they finally held onto a lead to beat Tottenham 2-1 in north London.
Sammie Szmodics opened the scoring with an acrobatic effort, before Liam Delap bundled home a second goal after a swift counter attack by the Tractor Boys. It was the third consecutive time that the East Anglian outfit had taken the lead in a game, and they had just a point to show for their efforts in the last two, leaving plenty fearful of another repeat when Rodrigo Bentancur halved their advantage 70 minutes into the game.
But Ipswich held on to claim a vital three points, a result that lifted themselves out of the relegation zone at the expense of Crystal Palace and, they will be hoping, is the start of a string of results to pull them well clear of the bottom three.
| Ipswich Town’s next five games |
| Manchester United (Home) |
| Nottingham Forest (Away) |
| Crystal Palace (Home) |
| Bournemouth (Home) |
| Wolves (Away) |
“It’s been a long time for the club, 22 years since the supporters saw a win in the Premier League”, McKenna explained after the game. “The journey to get to here has been a big one. It feels a bit special today. We believe we’ve been improving. We’ve picked up five out of 10 results but were waiting for the first win to validate the work and improvements. It’s a massive moment, one to cherish.”
Now, attention is already turning to ways to improve in January, and one midfielder could be on his way to East Anglia.
Ipswich keen to sign midfield “machine”
That comes as Ipswich Town are one of the sides credited with an interest in signing Liverpool outcast Wataru Endo in January, with the Japanese midfielder reportedly keen to exit Anfield. Endo has yet to start a Premier League or Champions League game under new manager Arne Slot, who has asked Ryan Gravenberch to play in Endo’s position so far this season.
In fact, he has been limited to just 20 minutes of action across the 13 games in those two competitions, though he has started both Carabao Cup games the Reds have been involved with. As per CaughtOffside, this lack of game time could see him leave in January, with the 31-year-old “seeking a new club” and Liverpool reportedly ready to accept “a fee of around €15-18 million for him” (£12.5m-£15m).
For the right club, he could be a perfect addition, with former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp hailing the Japanese midfielder a “machine” during their time working together.
“He’s a machine. He is footballing-wise exceptional. His defensive brain is outstanding”, the German explained.
The struggling striker would have been a dreadful signing for Ipswich.
It is added that alongside clubs around Europe, Premier League trio Wolves, Fulham and Ipswich have “shown interest” in signing the veteran midfielder.
Central midfield is certainly an area that Ipswich could do with reinforcements, with Sam Morsy continuing to set an example in the middle of the park but now 33 years-old, while Kalvin Phillips is yet to have the impact that Town fans would have hoped since moving to Portman Road on loan for the season.
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