footballfancast.com

Ipswich must now finally ditch "struggling" flop who McKenna was “very happy” to sign - opinion

Ipswich Town, unlike both Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, will stick by their manager for the foreseeable, as Kieran McKenna continues to get a tune out of his players deep in a relegation battle.

The Tractor Boys would put the final nail in the coffin of Gary O'Neil's tenure at Molineux last time out, as Jack Taylor's last gasp header sealed a win at the death for the away side, leading to the 44-year-old's expected dismissal.

Taylor wasn't the only player in the middle of the park to stand out during this dramatic victory either, as the likes of Jens Cajuste shone in the holding midfield positions among other faces.

Ipswich's impressive midfield vs Wolves

The aforementioned Cajuste would only be gifted his seventh start of the season in the Premier League versus Wolves, with this showing his best so far since joining in the summer.

The Napoli loanee would only misplace two of his 32 passes on the day, whilst also showing the necessary grit McKenna will want from a player tasked with protecting the defence, having also successfully won eight duels alongside completing three tackles.

Cajuste

Away from the Scandinavian impressing in a deep role, both Conor Chaplin and Omari Hutchinson also received many plaudits at the full-time whistle for their showings in attack, with Hutchinson in particular giving Wolves defenders headaches by amassing four successful dribbles.

Of course, there was also the key contribution from Jack Clarke off the bench late on, as the left winger's inch-perfect delivery from a corner kick thankfully found Taylor's head.

Whilst all of these players will feel overjoyed with their displays at Molineux, Kalvin Phillips remained rooted to the substitutes bench throughout, as his loan stint with the newly promoted side seems to have now hit a wall.

The Ipswich star who needs to leave

Indeed, the ex-Leeds United star hasn't featured for a single minute in his side's last five Premier League contests, after picking up a dubious double booking versus Leicester City at the start of November and then contending with various injury issues away from that suspension.

His absence hasn't really been felt, with Cajuste and Morsy battling away well in that win versus Wolves. That will leave some pondering whether the deal to snap up the 29-year-old - who data analyst Ben Mattinson claimed has been "struggling mentally and physically" in recent times - was a worthwhile venture.

Kalvin-Phillips-Ipswich

McKenna was over the moon to capture the out-of-sorts midfielder on a loan deal back in August, hopeful that he could be the manager to get him back to his Elland Road peak, stating that he was "very happy" to welcome the former England international in through the door.

After all - whilst he was still on the books of the Whites - Phillips would win himself that opportunity to play for the Three Lions, amassing an impressive 234 appearances at his boyhood club before Manchester City forked out £45m to win his signature.

Phillips' PL numbers for Ipswich - 24/25

Stat - per 90 mins*

Games played

Goals scored

Assists

Touches*

Accurate passes*

Ball recoveries*

Total duels won*

Stats by Sofascore

Unfortunately, the brand new Ipswich number four is yet to blow anyone away with his performances on loan, with the numbers above somewhat underwhelming as zero goals and assists have been notched up from seven top-flight contests.

Those ball recovery and duels won numbers are encouraging, but McKenna will want more from the battler who was once so tenacious and stylish on the ball under Marcelo Bielsa's expert tutelage.

Kalvin-Phillips-Ipswich

Boasting an excessive £150k-per-week wage - some of which will be paid by Ipswich - Phillips will need to break back into his manager's first team plans soon and demonstrate the levels he can reach, otherwise his spell might be cut short in Suffolk.

Stating that he lost the "fire in his belly" after moving to Man City in a recent tell-all discussion, the best times of the 29-year-old's playing days could now be behind him, leading to him returning back to the Etihad in January after another unmemorable move away.

With reports also rife regarding a potential return to former club Leeds in the new year, the winter window could provide a perfect opportunity for a parting of ways.

Kalvin-Phillips-Ipswich Related

Worse than Phillips: Ipswich may have made a mistake signing £15m ace

The talented player has not got to grips with life at Ipswich.

Read full news in source page