Ipswich Town: Why Premier League promotion can be secured
Ipswich Town are third in the Championship table with nine games to go. Stuart Watson outlines nine reasons to believe back-to-back promotions will happen.
READ MORE; Ipswich struck gold with “fantastic” gem who’s now worth more than Davis
Ipswich Town played a blinder signing this gem when they did.
Ipswich Town continue to defy expectations by still being in the Championship automatic promotion picture, the Tractor Boys only a point behind Daniel Farke‘s Leeds United despite losing in dramatic fashion to Cardiff City last match.
The Suffolk-based outfit would concede two goals in stoppage time right at the very end of the 90 minutes, a gut-punch of a final scoreline for Kieran McKenna’s men to process at 2-1 in favour of the Bluebirds.
Losing in the manner in which they did would have been obviously heartbreaking, but McKenna would have been happy in some capacity to see Harry Clarke come away from the game without any bruises and cuts after being sidelined through injury in the games before coming back into the side for the collapse in the Welsh capital.
Clarke’s absence had been felt arguably, with the former Arsenal youngster now coming in as one of the most valuable players in the Ipswich camp when it comes to transfer value off his continued excellent displays at Portman Road.
Harry Clarke’s transfer value at Ipswich Town
Clarke being out of the side was very obvious for Ipswich spectators to see when their side faced off against Bristol City earlier this month, with Axel Tuanzebe struggling at right-back filling in for the injury-stricken 23-year-old.
Tuanzebe would win just four of his nine duels against the Robins before being hauled off by McKenna, with the ex-Man United assistant manager turned main Tractor Boys boss despondent at the fact he couldn’t pick a reliable figure like Clarke over the below-par Ipswich number 40.
When Clarke has started this season, Ipswich have often been better off for it – the Tractor Boys number two averaging four ball recoveries per game this campaign from 30 appearances, a tireless and energetic presence at the back as well as going forward.
It’s resulted in Clarke – who was described as possessing a “fantastic” attitude by his manager when first signing – coming in now at an estimated worth of €6m (£5m) as per Football Transfers which impressively puts him ahead of his full-back partner on the left-hand side Leif Davis who comes in at €5.2m (£4.4m) and, rather staggeringly, the rest of his teammates in Suffolk.
Harry Clarke’s value at Ipswich Town compared to the squad
Davis’ 17 assists in the Championship this season only sees him come in as the third most cherished asset at Portman Road according to Football Transfers’ expected transfer value model, with Clarke shining bright at the top of the list.
George Hirst comes in just below Clarke at €5.6m (£4.7m) despite also suffering with his own injury demons of late, the former Leicester City man firing in the goals when fit earlier in the campaign with six strikes managed from 23 second-tier games.
| Most valuable players at Ipswich (permanent players) – 2023-24 | |
|---|---|
| Player | Expected transfer value |
| 1. Harry Clarke | €6m (£5m) |
| 2. George Hirst | €5.6m (£4.7m) |
| 3. Leif Davis | €5.2m (£4.4m) |
| 4. Conor Chaplin | €4.1m (£3.5m) |
| 5. Nathan Broadhead | €3.8m (£3.2m) |
| Sourced by Football Transfers | |
McKenna and Co will hope Clarke’s reemergence into the first team fold will coincide in Ipswich gunning for automatic promotion glory with more ferocity, having won their last six games in the Championship before losing away at Cardiff right at the death.
Clarke will just be thankful that he’s found a home to call his own in Portman Road – away from all the talk about promotion – after leaving the Gunners behind in 2022, with the Tractor Boys potentially even having to bat away clubs trying to go after their 23-year-old defender soon.
