Ipswich Town have had a torrid start to life in the Championship following last season’s Premier League relegation. Kieran McKenna’s side currently sit 18th in the Championship and were knocked out of the first round of the League Cup following the loss of a number of star players.
Omari Hutchinson and Liam Delap both secured their Premier League futures with moves to Nottingham Forest and Chelsea, respectively. So far this window, Ipswich have actually made a profit of over £50 million.
They have brought in some players such as Kasey McAteer and Azor Matusiwa on permanent deals, Ashley Young on a free transfer and Chuba Akpom on loan. However, these signings are yet to bring McKenna’s side a win.
While there is still time left in the transfer window, Ipswich are pushing to bring in another signing to help reinforce them defensively.
Ipswich close to finalising Furlong
Ipswich Town are close to signing a deal with West Bromwich Albion for Darnell Furlong. The deal for the defender will initially cost the Tractor Boys £3.5 million.
The agreement also includes a unique clause that means Ipswich will be required to pay West Brom a further £500,000 if they secure promotion. However, given their start to the season, this clause currently looks unlikely to be achieved. West Brom are set to make an impressive profit on Furlong as he only cost them just over £1.4 million when he joined from QPR back in 2019.
Ipswich have recently worked with Furlongs agency, New Era Global Sports Management Limited, as they represent Corbin Mthunzi, who joined their academy from Brighton in April.
"One of the best full-backs of the Championship"
With Furlong, Ipswich will have a capable defender on their hands who ranked highly among his peers in the second tier last season. In the 2024/25 campaign, Furlong ranked in the top 3% of players for both aerial duels and ground duels won.
A unique area in which Furlong shines is winning fouls. Furlong won 72 free kicks last season, putting him in the top 3% of similar players. These fouls were often won in his own defensive third and are the result of his nous when dealing with pressing opposition players.
These achievements are part of the reason that Furlong has left positive impressions on coaches he’s worked with in the past. Valencia boss Carlos Corberen, who managed Furlong for two years as West Brom boss, was full of praise for the full-back when he was his manager:
“Furlong is a player that, personally, I love to work with. He is a player we need as a club to value a lot because the number of minutes that he plays every season, without decreasing his level, shows that he is a very robust and very mentally strong player. With these natural things, he has added attacking and defensive behaviors that have made him for me one of the best full-backs of the Championship.”
Based on these defensive stats and his former manager’s praise for him, Ipswich might be about to recruit the catalyst that can kick-start their season and get them climbing up the table.