Everton and Ipswich Town have shared plenty of players over the years – including internationals, academy products and several who made a significant mark at one or both clubs.
Ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting at the Hill Dickinson, we have picked an XI made entirely from players who represented both Everton and Ipswich.
This isn’t necessarily the best XI. The idea is to put together something resembling a functioning team while remembering some of the more interesting links between the clubs.
GK: Richard Wright
The obvious choice in goal.
Wright came through the ranks at Ipswich and was part of George Burley’s side which won promotion to the Premier League in 2000 before finishing fifth the following season.
He joined Arsenal in 2001 before moving to Everton a year later, spending five seasons with the Blues.
RB: Ashley Young
One of the most recent additions to the list.
Young spent two seasons with Everton before joining Ipswich in July 2025, adding another club to a career which had already included Watford, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Inter Milan.
CB: Matthew Pennington
An Everton academy product, Pennington made his senior debut for the Blues in 2015 and later scored against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby at Anfield.
His Ipswich connection came during the 2018-19 season, when he spent the campaign on loan at Portman Road.
CB: David Unsworth
Few players in this XI have a stronger Everton connection.
Unsworth came through the club’s youth system and had two spells with the Blues, making more than 300 appearances before leaving for Portsmouth in 2004.
He was reunited with former Everton manager Joe Royle when he subsequently joined Ipswich on loan.
LB: Luke Garbutt
Garbutt joined Everton as a teenager and made first-team appearances for the Blues while spending much of his time at the club out on loan.
One of those spells took him to Ipswich for the 2019-20 season, where he became a regular on the left side.
RM: Andros Townsend
Townsend’s Ipswich spell came early in his career during a succession of loans away from Tottenham.
More than a decade later he joined Everton, scoring memorable long-range goals against Burnley and Manchester United before a serious knee injury curtailed his time with the Blues.
CM: Claus Thomsen
The Danish midfielder is one of the players in this side who moved directly between the two clubs.
Thomsen joined Ipswich in 1994 before Joe Royle brought him to Everton in January 1997. His stay on Merseyside lasted a little over a year before he moved on to Akademisk Boldklub in Denmark.
CM: Callum Connolly
Another Everton academy graduate whose route towards regular senior football involved several loan moves.
Connolly joined Ipswich for the 2017-18 season and became a regular at Portman Road, operating in midfield as well as defence.
LM: Nathan Broadhead
Broadhead joined Everton’s academy as a 10-year-old and made his senior debut in a Europa League victory over Apollon Limassol in December 2017.
First-team opportunities remained limited and Ipswich signed him permanently in January 2023.
It proved an excellent move. Broadhead helped Town win successive promotions, first from League One and then from the Championship, as Ipswich returned to the Premier League.
ST: Marcus Bent
Bent moved directly from Ipswich to Everton in the summer of 2004.
David Moyes signed the striker ahead of a season in which Everton upset expectations by finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League.
Bent was not a prolific scorer at Goodison, but his pace, movement and willingness to work across the front line made him an important part of that side.
ST: Francis Jeffers
An Everton academy graduate, Jeffers emerged as one of the most highly regarded young strikers in English football before joining Arsenal in 2001.
He later returned to Everton on loan and his Ipswich connection came in 2007, when he spent the closing weeks of the season on loan at Portman Road from Blackburn Rovers.
The Everton-Ipswich XI
Richard Wright; Ashley Young, Matthew Pennington, David Unsworth, Luke Garbutt; Andros Townsend, Claus Thomsen, Callum Connolly, Nathan Broadhead; Marcus Bent, Francis Jeffers.
There are plenty of alternatives. Paul Gerrard, Asmir Begovic, Ben Godfrey, Conor Grant and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are among the other players to have represented both clubs.
Not a bad crossover XI at all.
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