Ipswich Town is gradually assembling a competitive team that is prepared to challenge at the top of the Championship.
With the return of Jens Cajuste and the loan signing of Chuba Akpom, the Tractor Boys appear a little more stable on the pitch as they re-establish themselves in the second division.
The uncertainty around the departure of key players appears to have been settled.
McKenna's next target is a ball-carrying midfielder who can partner with Cajuste or Matusiwa and initiate assaults from inside their own half, much like Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo did during Ipswich's previous Championship run.
According to a Daily Mail report, McKenna's team appears to be setting high goals for that position, as Lewis Miley of Newcastle United joins Lewis Cook and Philip Billing of Bournemouth as a trio linked to loan deals to Portman Road.
All three would strengthen Ipswich's push for promotion this season and be outstanding additions to the level.
The three men on Ipswich Town's shortlist have top-tier experience.
The Premier League experience and skill that Miley, Cook, and Billing would bring to the Ipswich midfield would give them an advantage over their rivals in the Championship.
More so than Miley, Cook and Billing have played regular top-flight football over the past three seasons as members of the Cherries team that experienced Championship promotion in the 2021–2022 season.
More so than Miley, Cook and Billing have played regular top-flight football over the past three seasons as members of the Cherries team that experienced Championship promotion in the 2021–2022 season.
Under Andoni Iraola, Cook has been a mainstay in the Bournemouth team for a few seasons.
Since the Spaniard took over in 2023, Cook has missed just seven league games, and he even served as captain occasionally last season.
He had a knee injury that kept him out of the first game against Liverpool, but you can bet that he will return to play frequently for Bournemouth.
Given that the Danish international spent the second half of the 2024–25 season away from the Vitality Stadium, Billing is therefore the more probable of the two to be considering a move.
However, that time was spent with Napoli, the eventual Serie A champions, so a drop to England's second division might be viewed as a step down.
Nevertheless, Billing only made one start at Diego Maradona Stadium, and it came against Como, the team's sole defeat in the second half of the season, so a move for more consistent playing time would be alluring.
Even though Miley is just a teenager, his exposure to elite first-team football in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League would instantly make him one of the better players in the Championship at such a young age, even though he lacks the extensive experience of Billing or Cook.
The 2006-born star made his Newcastle debut halfway through the 2023–24 season, but since a back injury interrupted that campaign early, he hasn't been able to return to that level of consistency in the starting eleven.
A move to a team predicted to contend near the top of the Championship would allow the 19-year-old to flourish with regular playing time, as it is difficult to see Miley getting starts in the near future with players like Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, and Joelinton controlling the middle of the park at St. James' Park.
With the transfer deadline approaching, Ipswich Town's squad is becoming more controlled.
Many were starting to dismiss Ipswich as the championship contenders that many had anticipated them to be following an early scare on opening night away at Birmingham City and a shocking loss to Bromley in the EFL Cup.
But, as is frequently the case with teams that have just been demoted from the Premier League, it can occasionally take the whole transfer window to reorganise the team and select a consistent starting eleven for the remainder of the season. In the end, the new season is affected by that process.
The focus in the interim is on replacing those who have left, and McKenna now has more players around who he knows are committed for the upcoming season. Ipswich should start playing sooner rather than later if any of the three outstanding targets—Miley, Cook, and Billing—find their way to Portman Road for the season.
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