Ipswich Town and Kieran McKenna are looking to sign a versatile 6ft 6 midfielder who could replace loanee Kalvin Phillips.
Ipswich Town in Premier League relegation zone as Phillips update emerges
The Tractor Boys are in real danger of immediate relegation from the Premier League back to the Championship, with Kieran McKenna’s side now 10 games without a top-flight victory.
A 4-2 defeat against Nottingham Forest at Portman Road last time out was made worse by Wolves’ win at Southampton, which resulted in a nine-point gap opening up at the bottom.
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Ipswich Town want to sign 213-goal striker for free to replace Liam Delap
Delap is valued at £60m.
Talking after the loss to Forest, McKenna said: "There is a pretty big gap there and we can only focus on ourselves. We have two big games after the international break and we need to be ready for those and ready to compete.
"It is possible. With six points to play for when we come back from the international break. We are running out of games. We need to take points soon, we know that but we are certainly not going to give up hope or stop fighting until the last game is done."
Ipswich's next 5 Premier League fixtures Date
Bournemouth vs Ipswich April 2
Ipswich vs Wolves April 5
Chelsea vs Ipswich April 13
Ipswich vs Arsenal April 20
Newcastle vs Ipswich April 26
Should Ipswich go down, a number of players could be on the move this summer, including Man City loanee Phillips. There have been reports that Ipswich are unlikely to make the defensive midfielder’s move permanent, with Phillips reaching a verbal agreement to join Leeds United, if they win promotion.
Those at the Etihad could accept an offer in the region of £20m for Phillips, who has made 20 appearances on loan in East Anglia. As a result, Ipswich could be on the search for another holding midfielder, and they have seemingly identified one target in that position.
Ipswich Town interested in signing new 6ft 6 midfielder
According to Africa Foot, Ipswich Town are one of the clubs keen on signing Kalidou Sidibe from French side En Avant Guingamp.
kalidou-sidibe
Scottish giants Celtic have already made a £1.6m bid to sign the 26-year-old, however, Ipswich, PSV Eindhoven, Grasshopper Zurich and former side Toulouse are also interested.
Sidibe, who can play as a defensive midfielder, central midfielder or centre-back, stands at 6ft 6 and is the tallest player in French Ligue 2, as per Africa Foot. Beginning at Paris FC and Toulouse, Sidibe signed permanently for Guingamp in 2023 and has been a regular this season, making more than 30 appearances in all competitions.
He’s scored two goals and provided five assists in 2024/25 playing as a deep-lying midfielder, and if Ipswich are relegated to the second tier, Sidibe’s height could come in handy in what is a physical league. It looks like a move to keep an eye on, however, Ipswich may need to act fast with Celtic already making their move.