563: Kings of Anglia: A live signing, plus Woolfy might be on his way and some Preston predictions

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0:38Mark Heath:hello friends and welcome to your friday edition of the kings of anglia it's your town podcast proudly sponsored by stardust spirits and molecular the three of us here today stew still off on holiday unbelievably but mark keith alex jones roscoe with you this morning boys how are Rossi, a brief update on your kitchen, please. How's it going? What kind of state of repair is it? When can you have your first meal in there?

1:03Ross Halls:Most likely next week because I'm also heading to Preston this weekend. But no, it's going well. Currently, I'm hearing a sore in the background. So, yeah, it's getting there. I have got running water now. The oven is in. But we're not, we decided not to touch, go in there just yet, just in case something falls off or tiles that the guy has been doing it good old mike shout out to him he um was actually pleased the tiles are still up when he went when he left um yesterday so uh but yeah it's progressing i'm looking forward to the nice new kitchen

1:35Mark Heath:i'm not sure that's a good sign if the man who's putting the tiles up is surprised the tiles are still up the next day oh good are you are you having to have kind of awkward conversations with with workmen um i never feel never feel less of a man than when i've got a workman in uh standing around kind of doing diy of which i i'm useless at um and you kind of go for a cool that's a good bit of work there you've done well do you want a cup of tea that kind of stuff

2:04Ross Halls:pretty much and um obviously the job i do it's sort of like difficult yeah i'm just going to go into my spare bedroom now while you together a very impressive bit yeah exactly while you craft

2:16Mark Heath:things with your hands like a proper man um anyway no gender stereotypes on this show aj you were not around yesterday no we'll get on to that in due course you will be disciplined um you went to see hamilton for the 15th time seconds yeah um one one was one where i took my girlfriend sophie and then yesterday her family went and i got a nice free ticket to go watch it and it was cool and I went to Nando's and I got to see it again and it's good and you should go see it if you haven't seen it and it's your kind of thing and yeah, it was good fun I also share the feelings on having people coming in and doing the house we've had that kind of experience as well where I have to go record a podcast and I'd have people working just outside my bedroom by the window like painting and it's even worse when you're in my situation and you still live at home and you have your mum go up to the contractors and go, my son's just doing a podcast so please can you be quiet for a few minutes and you have like these really big burly kind of like contractors there who are like oh yeah of course that's absolutely fine and i'm just kind of sat in my room dying inside while this is all happening yeah great fun the greatest embarrassment is when we had one of our bathrooms done and um the guy came and said right you need to turn your water off uh and i was like yeah yeah no problem uh and and uh i kind of went underneath the sink uh messed around a bit and then he said do you actually know how to turn your water off and i was like uh i think so and he was like get out of the way i'll do it it's incredibly embarrassing and emasculating anyway friends we're not here to talk about workmen or diy or indeed musicals and i'm not a big fan of musicals i have to say um we are here to talk about it's which town and we're going to start this morning with sexy stuff yes yes yes it was town on the verge of making another signing it's casey mcateeer no one had that on their bingo board uh leicester city winger for 12 million pounds quid aj tell us all about it yeah um in the true fashion of me just always being like online and on social media i enjoyed being on the train to london yesterday and sending you transfer rumors i didn't enjoy that mate thanks yeah i had enough if i'm honest without you sending stuff into the chat yeah yeah well unfortunately that's the nature of the business and um yeah that was great fun as that one came up it was a john percy's report that said that ipswich had submitted an offer for casey mcatee we weren't really sure at that point whether it was going to be accepted um there have clearly been talks that have progressed in the last few hours probably yesterday really because this looks like a deal that's pretty much done.

4:57And, well, we're recording at half past ten. We'll see when this one could get announced. So the deal, we understand that it's going to be$11.5 million. It's going to be paid over the course of three years, as reported by The Athletic, David Ornstein, to bring in Casey McAteer, who's someone that at Leicester City has come through their academy, had a couple of loan spells out, and has progressed very nicely through the ranks at 23's Republic of Ireland International, because I think that's part of the criteria for signing for Ipswich these days, is you have to play for Ireland. And yeah, he became quite an important player at times for Leicester.

5:38When you look at the goal-scoring record, there might be some people that will be concerned. Of course, he did actually score against Ipswich at the back end of last season in the Premier League as well. But it's a pacey, right-sided winger. a technical player and one that looks set to become the seventh signing of the summer for Ipswich following Akpoma, well that would have been a couple of weeks ago now, so there you go, it's a new versatile addition, it looks more like a kind of like-for-like replacement for Omari Hutchinson, a little bit different in some ways, it's more kind of paced down the right side, but his medical is done and it's going to be a four-year deal signed for Casey McAteer to arrive at Ipswich Town.

6:21Mark Heath:What do you make of this one, Rossi, then? Because quite a few Leicester fans have been quite happy about this. My wife, who is a Leicester fan, is surprised that Town are paying that much money for him. Her feedback was, he's not a fatter woo, and that's fair to say, but he is nippy. And in that regard, we know that Kieran McKenna wants very specific things on that right wing. He wants pace, he wants physicality, he wants directness. And I suppose, looking at McAtee, he does tick all those boxes. What do you make of it?

6:51Ross Halls:Yeah, I was surprised with the fee. But if you think about it, he's 23. I think he's got three years left on his deal with Leicester. And yeah, he's a versatile player as well. I've just actually spoken to a Leicester fan and he said that, yeah, he can be defensive as well. He can play that sort of wing-back role. And obviously, McKenna loves versatile players. So yeah, he's a player that's played at this level before. It's an interesting one because we're signing him from a championship rival. but obviously Leicester are in a bit of a mess, aren't they? And I think they need a bit of money and FAP and PSR and all that stuff.

7:24Ross Halls:Yeah, I know some fans may be a bit underwhelmed by it, but he's a young, hungry player and that's what McKenna likes to do. He sort of ticks all that profiles. So, yeah, give him a chance, guys. Give him a chance. Don't look at the fear and go, really? But yeah, as he said, he'll know Daro Shea, Jack Taylor, Sammy Swannock, so he'll fit right in.

7:44Mark Heath:I mean, obviously, the one thing we do know about McKenna as well is he'll make players better. So bringing him in at the age of 23 with hopefully a lot of potential, let's see what McKenna can do with him. May even be completed today, AJ. One wonders if he may even play tomorrow, which I think, of course, will mean because he played for Leicester as they lost at Preston last weekend. He may, I don't know how many times that's happened. If it does indeed occur that a player plays against a side, then signs for another team and then faces the same side the next week. These things have a funny way of happening, don't they?

8:15You look at the the Tuba Akpom situation that almost was but wasn't in the end where you had the transfer saga that almost led to him playing against Birmingham who he almost signed for but then the deal didn't quite get over the line in time for that one to happen Yeah, had four minutes off the bench at Deepdale last week I think he's probably sick to death of travelling up to Lancashire now, I don't think he'll want to do that again but yeah, we'll have to wait and see if he's registered in time. It looks like it'll be one that we expect to be done quickly, imminently potentially, because it's pretty much all there and ready to go, which is exciting, I think.

8:57And yeah, I can understand some of the concerns that come with it. And you always worry a bit when it's a player arrives at Football Club with negative reviews. I think we've also learned enough now not to judge players on those kind of situations. How many times have Ipswich signed a player? And it's been like, good luck, he's crap. And then they've gone on to be really good, really impressive players. I mean, just look at the likes of Morsi and Luongo. You might not have done a lot in previous clubs and have gone on to become important system players under Kieran McKenna, really fitting into the mould of what he wants.

9:35And as we've kind of spoken about, that kind of very specific right-sided role. He never saw Omari Hutchinson as that right-sider, did he? That's why he was playing so much through the 10. And the right side in this Kieran McGannis system is pace, power, direct, and good deliveries from kind of hugging the touchline into wide areas like you get from Chiorg Benet and now Wes Burns is injured as well. So I think that he's been signed for a very specific role. And with that in mind, don't always go looking at what he's done at Leicester and what his goal return is. For example, Wes Burns, his goal return hasn't been that spectacular, for example, but you don't look at that because he's a different type of player.

10:15You look more at the running and the athleticism and the pace and the way that he suits what McKenna wants to do. So I think that will soon become clear, and I think that will be more of a focus than looking at attacking numbers.

10:30Mark Heath:Okay, so signing number seven, hopefully on the way in, Casey McAteer from Leicester, winger. The next bit of sexy stuff is kind of linked. because it's an in and out potentially. Luke Wolfenden being linked with Coventry earlier this week. Apparently Coventry came in, bid for him. And also linked is Sebastian Caceres, who is Uruguayan, AJ. These two obviously linked in that they play the same position. Spoke to Cameron Kenner about Wolfie yesterday. We'll maybe come to that in a minute. But tell us what you understand about this situation. Yeah, so this one got reported by Fabrizio Romano about half past two in the morning, which is just wonderful, just what we want to see.

11:13All your time zones coming into play, and that's partially because Mr. Caceres plays over in Mexico as well. He was signed from Liverpool-Montevedeo. I really like that. You just say he's signed from Liverpool. To go play in Mexico, it was about four years ago, and he's been out there ever since. Definitely a player of interest, and Fabrizio Romano has reported that there has been a former offer gone through to his club, Club America, the Mexican side. At this stage, I'm not sure it's as advanced as has been reported, but he's definitely someone that Ipswich are interested in and are keen to sign this summer.

11:53A slightly different profile of centre-back, 5 '11". I always kind of, in the same way that Ross flinches a bit when it's a player over 30, I flinch when it's a centre-back under 6 '0". It makes me feel a little bit, which as someone who's five, kind of six or so, is a bit awkward. But it's just how I feel. But yeah, it shows a further exploration into the Mexican market because with Marcel Ruiz, who was linked before, same kind of thing. So Ipswich are expanding their horizons and it would be unique if they were to sign a Uruguayan defender who plays in Mexico. That would definitely be different to what we've seen before.

12:30but Ipswich have a very set and complete centre-back unit. So if it's going to be one coming in, you're not going to have five centre-backs with the options that Ipswich have at the moment playing a back four. So it would involve goal one going out. And yeah, if it's going to be one, it's going to be Luke Wolfenden. There's plenty of speculation about Luke Wolfenden. He's had a bid for him from Coventry City that was rejected earlier this week. and then also we've seen plenty of other teams. I know TWT had mentioned Watford this morning. He's previously been linked to Sheffield United, of course, into Miami, which is great fun.

13:07So plenty of interest in him. I understand it really is pretty significant in terms of the teams that would like to sign Luke Walthenden this summer. And at the moment, I think there's a feeling that he'd be more likely to leave the club than stay, which would be really sad given everything that he's done. But that's the state of play at the moment. if you're looking at it, it would probably be a one-in, one-out situation there with Katharine potentially being the person to come in and replace Wolfie, who you can understand if he wants to go and play regular football, can't you?

13:36Mark Heath:I actually saw Wolfie yesterday when I was attending the presses we've come on to in due course. James, KOA listener in the kiosk. First question, Ross, he said, hello, Mark. Love KOA. Has Ross passed his driving test yet? and I said no I think he's actually further away from passing it as when we first started talking about it anyway James showed me to through the car park to the the press conference room and as we were walking there Wolfie was just getting into his light gray G wagon very nice car some some serious machines on display in that car park um Wolfie though Kieran was asked about that yesterday uh it didn't specifically say that he wanted to leave but kind of did imply it um essentially Kieran said we'd love to keep him but it's very difficult with these situations when players want to, without naming names, explore other opportunities and this, that and the other and as you say AJ, if Wolfie wants to play, all players want to play and if he's got offers coming in, you can't really blame him.

14:34Mark Heath:But if he did leave Rossi, it'd be like another kind of sad departure. We've had a lot of them this summer, haven't we? Maybe with Wolfie it's even more poignant because he is homegrown. He's one of our own and he's been around since the bad old days under Lambert and all that kind of stuff.

14:48Ross Halls:yeah and yeah he's so close to leaving back then and then he's gone on this roller coaster journey um and it's just town just like us um and yeah it will be sad because yeah he's one of those homegrown players come through the oof ranks and all that um and he just wants to play when he does play i feel like he does well um i actually feel sorry for him because he's when he puts in a shift like last year in the premier league he had a good period where he was playing week in week out and And then out of nowhere, obviously, Dara O'Shea was playing, Jacob Greaves and stuff. But when you spend a lot of money on players, Kieran McKenna's probably getting told, got to play these players.

15:25Ross Halls:But Luke Orfordon's probably at an age now where he wants to be playing week in, week out. But once again, for Itchwich's point of view, PSR and FFP, that will go into play as well. So we shall see where it goes. but yeah it will be a sad sort of to see him go It is also worth remembering within this that you've got to factor in all sides as you kind of alluded there Ross with PSR because he's an academy player it's pure profit so you don't have to take off anything that's come before because he's only been at Ipswich he's an academy player and if you're looking at a fee I don't know what the numbers are that's being discussed but what would you say Luke Walfenden would go for he's only just signed a new deal so he'd probably be looking at an initial five, at least, with what he's worth.

16:16So kind of plucking that from thin air, as I said, I don't really know what the numbers are. Then with add-ons on top of that, yeah, think about that in terms of the FFP side of things, and Ipswich still, I think, feeling they have quite a bit of business to do. This window, even with adding McIntyre and potential others still coming through the door, midfielders, strikers, maybe a left-back, but there's still a lot of work to do. they've obviously given themselves wiggle room with Amari Hutchinson's move and the fee that they'll get from that but it's kind of a situation where every little helped and that might be one of those decisive points when you're looking at does Luke Wolfenham want to go well actually we've got a good offer here from a championship rival and it's all going to go to pure profit maybe it is one of those that again and it feels horrible to say because we've said it so many times with these players that have come through the ranks at Ipswich and have been part of this journey, is it best for all parties that this is the time to move on?

17:14Mark Heath:Yeah, which kind of brings us to the pressers yesterday. That was a big theme of the pressers speaking to Kieran yesterday. My first time doing presses at Playford Road, not really my job, but for some reason, I've managed to give both you and Stu the day off yesterday, AJ, which meant that I had to pull myself off the bench, go and do the bloody presses too. And it was quite an experience. I think me and McKenna, we had a meeting of minds, if I'm honest. Obviously, both of us managers of high-performing teams. He's just had the Amari situation. I've got you and Stu not wanting to work, not wanting to cover presses, not wanting to do your job.

17:47Mark Heath:So we obviously connected over that. He's got kids who can't drive, so he understands the Ross situation as well. So, yeah, I thought it was really interesting. We got to speak to Alex Palmer, first of all. I got to ask Alex a question about those goggles that you see him wearing, which I thought was interesting. He said they're a training aid, which is interesting. They essentially work like blinders on a horse. So they cut out a lot of your peripheral vision and it's meant to make your reflexes better because you have less time to react to things. And he said, you know, he's, he's trying using them and he's, he's open-minded to all sorts of things that can, that can make him better.

18:22Mark Heath:So it was interesting speaking to Alex, obviously his first time playing in the Premier League, but most interesting obviously was, was Kieran McKenna who, who is always in my experience anyway, very fulsome with his answers. and it was very interesting talking to him about the transfer window as a whole because when she spoke to Mark Ashton at the start of the summer, Mark said we need to try and retrain as much of the squad as possible. That's going to be almost as important as signing new players and clearly that's not really worked out like that. So I said to Kieran, is it fair to say that more players, there's been more change than you hoped for slash expected?

18:58Mark Heath:And yes, he agreed that that was the case and it does make it hard to plan as a manager when you don't actually know what you're going to have come September 2nd. And he spoke at length about, all the quotes are out there, if you want to go and read them on our website, about different situations. Obviously, Liam and Omari are slightly different in that they're really talented young players with a big market value. They move on, club record fees. And he says, hopefully, in the sands of time, that will be seen as good business for the club. But then you've got the other scenarios, like we've seen with Cameron Burgess, who he name-checked and Sam Morsey players that he didn't really want to leave.

19:34Mark Heath:But it's not as simple as just saying, well, you're under contract, you've got to stay or whatever. We've offered you a new contract, please sign it. Because ultimately, if a player wants to go, and he made the point of saying, Andy Warren's calling, I don't know what that's about. He made the point of saying, essentially, that we want players who want to be here. And if they've earned that opportunity through what they've done for the club, then it's only fair that they are allowed to explore that. and clearly a lot of what Town have built has been around that feeling of togetherness and unity and everyone pulling in the same direction so they want to continue to have that which makes it difficult when players like Hassan Warzey or Nathan Broadhead come forward and say look I want to explore something else and you know you refer to life-changing opportunities for these guys so interesting that Kieran openly admits AJ that it's not been the summer that he kind of expected or indeed hoped for yeah i'd say so um and i think that's kind of what we've all felt watching on and as i said before it's still in the case where we looking on from the outside kind of have to judge things properly when we get to the end of the transfer window but um again there's kind of two sides to things the sentimental side and the fact that there's so many players that have been part of this journey that are now not and this is the biggest summer in terms of turnover of those players and especially like key players as well um that we've had since the journey really began so there's that um also losing kind of a core group of of players that know each other that know the fan base what it means to deliver success for this football club as well and it means that probably as supporters sometimes you look out at the team and you think well these aren't the promotion heroes these aren't the guys that i saw fire down to the championship from league one or or the heroics to get them up to the premier league and you're looking instead at um players who are um really throwing me off that uh you're looking at players who are instead uh signed for of big money fees who've come in to replace them that haven't really done that and haven't really kind of stepped in in the Premier League.

21:53And there's every chance that they will do it in the Championship. And that's kind of, I think, the fan perspective and from McKenna's sense as well, the overturn and trying to make sure that you've got a squad that's ready to kick on immediately. That becomes really, really difficult when there's so much turnover, when all of these guys that you've worked with that have been so successful have moved on and you've still got the pressure to deliver because you've got 15 million pound Jack Clark, 20 million pound Jane Villagin, Sammy Smoddik's top scorer. But it's not as easy as doing that. And consistency can be key in kind of ensuring that you are successful and you can go on and challenge at the top of the division.

22:33So that's the hard part for Kieran, absolutely. Let's see what the final couple of weeks of the window bring because, yes, A, they have to bring bodies in, but B, it's also about betting them in, making sure that everyone fits together and then it can click as a unit to kind of kick on from there.

22:51Mark Heath:The other thing I asked him about was in terms of the context of the success of the season, how important is it, what happens in the last few days out of the windows? And he conceded, obviously, that is factually correct, that is going to be important. But ultimately, he was keen to stress that it's not how many players we can sign and who comes in and where, because he said you can sign a player you think is going to be the answer and then that player gets injured on the first day. So you can't put all your eggs in that basket. He said, ultimately, what has made us successful is the culture, the work ethic, the growth mindset.

23:21Mark Heath:And that ultimately, he says, as well as a certain level of talent, the culture is what will out. So, yeah, really interesting talking to Kieran about that. Now then, friends, it's going to be a little pod light today because obviously we've got quite a lot to do. Signings incoming, you would say. So shall we talk about Preston? Because that's where you're heading this weekend, you boys. again Stu not around I also note by the way we talk about Amari choosing not to play Stu's choosing not to work on deadline day as well which is interesting isn't it friends some may say he's trying to force a move anyway couldn't possibly comment but you boys are off to Preston this weekend as a twosome, the dynamic duo the young guns and as part of that we've always been trying to obviously predict the starting 11 which is getting I suppose now interesting because we know I should have mentioned of course press yesterday, Sammy Smoddix.

24:13Mark Heath:They feared he might have broken his arm against Southampton. So we were talking about his knee injury, but no, apparently the concern was an arm. X-rays have cleared that up. He's very badly bruised. One, you'd imagine he's not going to start with that sort of injury. Kieran also said that Dubrak one's been practising, training full pelt, full throttle, so he might be hopefully part of the squad tomorrow for the first time, and also Jens, he referred to, potentially getting more minutes this weekend, and even said, suggested that might be from the start. should be interesting. So, I'm going to start with you actually, Rossi, you've been quiet for a while.

24:44Mark Heath:How are you feeling about this trip to Preston? Because you say, you look at it at the start, Birmingham, obviously always going to be a tough game. Kieran referred to that yesterday, it's barely a football match. Southampton, then another tough game. Then you go, it's all right, we've got three of those two unbeaten, off to Preston. But no, Preston are unbeaten themselves, they're just beating Leicester. So how are you feeling about this one? Yeah,

25:06Ross Halls:I think there's a few people who put Preston down as relegation favourites, but they've started the season pretty well. And yeah, to beat Leicester at home is not too shabby. They've actually got three home games in a row. So they've had Leicester last weekend, they've got us and they've got a Carabao Cup game next in the week against Wrexham. So they've got like a, yeah, nice sort of just home sort of comforts for the next couple of games. But yeah, Preston is always a tough place to go, as they say, the cliche, you know, Deepdale. It's a long trip up there. I'm pleased it is in the summer because when we went there in February, last time we went, I lost 3-2.

25:42Ross Halls:It was wet, cold. And, yeah, Kiefer Moore scored two goals, but they lost 3-2. So, yeah, it's going to be a different game to Southampton and Birmingham. But, yeah, we can't treat this slightly because Preston has still got players and, you know, they're dangerous. They haven't got Will Keane, so we've got to worry about that. He's not involved at the moment, so we haven't got the ex-Blues factors going to score a goal against us. So, yeah, it's going to be an interesting game against Preston. But I feel goals are going to be. When I spoke to the Preston reporter, he thinks there's going to be goals.

26:15Ross Halls:And they've got confidence because of the opening game so far.