After being handed what can only be described as a horror set of fixtures to kick off the Premier League season, Ipswich Town are showing signs that they might be able to beat the drop this year.
Kieran McKenna’s side may have unsurprisingly lost their first two games of the campaign against Liverpool and Manchester City, but they picked up valuable and impressive points away to Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion before securing a third point away to fellow relegation candidates Southampton last weekend.
Now, the Tractor Boys would have wanted to pick up their first win at St Marys, but that point might come in handy down the line, and as the fans will probably admit, it wasn’t the team’s finest display.
In fact, despite the club’s positive start this season, summer signing Sammie Szmodics hasn’t quite hit the ground running in the way some might have hoped, so it could be time for McKenna to replace him in the starting lineup for this afternoon’s clash with Aston Villa.
Why Szmodics should be dropped
So, the first thing to point out is that Szmodics is an undeniably talented footballer who was simply sensational for Blackburn Rovers last season, scoring 33 goals and four assists in 48 games.
However, due to this incredible form, there was an expectation from fans and pundits alike that following his £11m transfer this summer, he’d be able to add some serious attacking threat to the Tractor Boys’ midfield and that even if he couldn’t replicate his form in the Premier League, he’d still maintain a healthy level of output.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case so far. In his five appearances for the club, he has scored just a single goal, which came in the club’s heavy 4-1 defeat away to Manchester City last month.
Moreover, aside from pure output, the 29-year-old hasn’t looked particularly impressive in general, with his performance against Southampton last week getting him a 5/10 rating from the East Anglian Daily Times’ Alex Jones.
With that said, his body of work suggests that with time, Szmodics will eventually come good for McKenna and Ipswich, but with a challenging game against Villa this afternoon, the Irishman should be dropped for another of the exciting summer signings.
Why Clarke should start today
So, the summer signing that should take Szmodics’ place on the left-hand side this afternoon is 23-year-old Jack Clarke.
Now, like the Irishman, the former Sunderland ace hasn’t been electric for the Blues so far this season, but unlike the former Blackburn ace, the Englishman has not had the same chance to show what he can do.
In all, he’s played 68 minutes of Premier League football across three games and only started in the League Cup, which is hardly enough time for a new signing to get to grips with the team.
Moreover, thanks to his supreme form for the Black Cats over the last couple of seasons, McKenna should know how talented the dynamic winger is.
For example, in 42 appearances for the Championship side last year, the “unplayable” York-born star, as pundit Adrian Clarke dubbed him, racked up a seriously impressive haul of 15 goals and four assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 2.21 games, which helps to explain why he won the club’s Player of the Year award.
Appearances
50
42
Goals
11
15
Assists
14
4
Goal Involvements per Match
0.50
0.45
The campaign before that, he was just as effective, scoring 11 goals and providing 14 assists in 50 matches for the Black Cats, which equates to a goal involvement every other game.
Ultimately, Clarke has proven over the last few seasons that he can be a serious and consistent goal threat, either by scoring them himself or setting up chances for his teammates, and while the Premier League is undoubtedly a big step-up, he deserves an opportunity to start today’s game.
Ipswich struck gold on sensational star whose value has soared 650%
The incredible signing has proven his worth and then some.
ByJack Salveson HolmesSep 24, 2024