EFL Analysis can exclusively reveal that Ipswich Town’s owners remain “ambitious” after relegation from the Premier League.
Ipswich Town suffered relegation to the Championship last season, but the Tractor Boys are backed by many second tier supporters as promotion favourites for 2025/26.
Within the summer transfer window, Ipswich have added some stellar recruits to Kieran McKenna’s promotion-hunting squad.
Ipswich signed Chuba Akpom from Ajax ahead of Championship rivals Birmingham City and also added ‘exciting’ Azor Matusiwa in a £10m deal with Rennes.
Now, EFL Analysis can exclusively reveal what the financial “strategy seems to be” for Ipswich’s owners, with an instant top flight return in the crosshairs.
Mark Ashton and Kieran McKenna look on before an Ipswich Town match
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
As well as the impressive acquisitions brought to Portman Road this summer, Ipswich have also replenished their financial coffers with the sales of Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson.
Ipswich sold Delap to Chelsea for £30m earlier in the summer, and more recently, Hutchinson joined Nottingham Forest in a £37.5m move.
Ipswich are expected to add further recruits with the September 1 transfer deadline day fast approaching, with one deal imminent afterEFL Analysis exclusively revealed that Ipswich are set to sign Sindre Walle Egeli for £17.2m from FC Nordsjaelland.
EFL Analysis’ Chief Football Finance Expert, Adam Williams, lifted the lid on Ipswich’s current financial situation.
Williams explained: “The season Ipswich went up, they had one of the biggest wage bills in the Championship. It was £44.5m, which was more than double the previous season in League One.
“No one had a bigger wage bill other than the parachute payment clubs. A significant chunk of that was attributable to bonuses from their League One promotion, but that in and of itself tells you something about the ambition of the owners to have such a heavily-incentivised wage structure.
“Because we don’t have the 2024-25 accounts yet, we don’t know what they were paying players and staff in the Premier League, but if you look at the profile of players they have signed, I suspect it will have at least doubled inclusive of bonuses.
“They are also going to have taken on a lot of transfer debt that they now have to service over the next couple of years.
Ipswich Town income Ipswich Town expenditure
£75.8m £23m
Ipswich Town’s transfer business so far this summer (as of August 22), as per Transfermarkt.
“Back in the Championship, they will have had step-down clauses in a lot of players’ contracts, but they are still going to have a significant wage bill that is smaller than their underlying revenue.
“They only get two years of parachute payments, not three, and so their strategy seems to be try and keep most of their squad together, keep most of the cash from the sales they have made, and rely on the talent they attracted in the Premier League to take them back up again.
“They aren’t betting the farm on promotion, but they’re still being relatively ambitious.”
Ipswich Town target Kasey McAteer during Nottingham Forest FC v Leicester City FC - Premier League
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
Ipswich Town strategy clear with signing of Kasey McAteer from Leicester City
On Friday afternoon, Ipswich’s website officially announced the signing of 23-year-old forward Kasey McAteer from Championship rivals and fellow relegation sufferers from last season, Leicester City.
After Ipswich bid for McAteer, the attacker spoke of his delight at signing a four-year deal at Portman Road.
McAteer told Ipswich: “It’s a very attractive project which is being built here and I want to add myself to that.
“The aim is to get promoted again and that’s what we will push for every day. I want to be a part of that.”
With Ipswich’s owners remaining “relatively ambitious”, the signing of McAteer from the Foxes is a perfect example of their strategy.
McAteer has the quality to help Ipswich on their quest for promotion and has the potential to prove himself in the Premier League as Hutchinson did in the event of success this season.
But equally, should Ipswich fail in their attempt for an instant top flight return, McAteer is a player who will hold value and help push for promotion again next season, in a similar vein to Jack Clarke.
However, with the likes of Akpom, McAteer and Matusiwa joining Ipswich’s already stacked squad, McKenna’s side remain promotion favourites.