Ipswich Town transfer talk - The first episode of the Gary O’Neil era

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0:38Ross Halls:Hello everybody, it's me Roscoe and welcome to the latest Itrich Town Transfer Talk podcast episode. Keep me up with speed on all the latest links and rumours surrounding the Blues. Gary O 'Neill's Blues, of course, the first episode since he appointed the Itrich Town manager. I'm here with Alex Jones as standard We're recording this on a very hot Thursday afternoon This will be going out likely on Friday afternoon And whenever you listen to this I hope you're enjoying the sunshine And keep me hydrated, but AJ Is it too hot my friend? It is too hot, might be too hot Yeah, this is This is tough going I hope that you can't hear the little fan I've got going to my right So I record in my room in my house which is underneath the living room.

1:26It's like directly underneath the living room where, uh, it's where I've been working actually for a lot of today. And I have been surrounded by about three fans up there. Um, which is about as many that you get on KOA. Um, and, um, yeah, I've definitely been packing out the kind of try to call the room. So yes, been a hot one. I know that as I said, we're recording on Thursday. I think Friday tomorrow is going to be even worse. So, uh, I hope that if you are listening on the Friday that you're staying, Cool and hydrated, as Roscoe says. Yeah, plenty to get stuck into, but God, it's hot. Yes, indeed.

2:03Ross Halls:But yeah, the new era has dawned at Port Monroe. And I'm sure there'll be more transfer links and rumours in the next few weeks. But we've got a few for you today, to sort of keep you up to speed or everything. We've got some strikers, a goalie, a player that's playing in the MLS. And also, there's going to be incomings, but there is going to be departures at town as well, so I've got a few links about them. AJ, let's start with a 21-year-old forward from Belgium who's currently playing in the second tier in France, but been scoring goals. He's one cap international for Belgium. Of course, not at the World Cup with them.

2:42Ross Halls:Keep up speed. Let us know who this is. Lucas is the name. Yeah, Lucas Stassam, I believe, will be the French pronunciation, spelt Stassin. But, yeah, Belgian striker playing over in France in the second tier in Ligue 2, like saying that. And he's been someone who's caught a lot of attention over quite a while now because he's delivered really well in the top flight when he was there and he's been part of the Saint-Etienne team who've struggled. So he's been playing really well, actually, for a team that has been down towards the bottom end of the division. And that's why he's been courted so much.

3:19So in that Ligue 1 season, 12 goals, 4 assists. They've been down in the second tier. They didn't get promoted. They fell short in the playoffs. 11 goals, 8 assists in the second tier this year. Still such a young player, 21 years of age, and that's why there's so much interest in him. We've seen Sunderland credited with interest before. Porto are one who are in the race for him again this year. And Town have been linked by a French news outlet called Jeune Fouteau, also good fun to say. widely expected that he's going to leave the club this season leave probably leave france but loads of interest in terms of uh him and ipswich uh according to these reports in france uh definitely one who are in the race so an interesting player for sure if you uh watched any of him uh in in the top flight i haven't seen as much of him this year in the second tier but certainly in the top flight the bits i've seen from from clips of him playing in league um excellent player really good all-round number nine, well-balanced, and feels like he'd be a suitable Gary O 'Neill striker.

4:22So a really exciting one. If there's some substance in it, expect plenty of interest and plenty of competition to try and sign him. But a big fan of Lucas Stassan.

4:33Ross Halls:I like it. I may have to pause because I'm here at an ice cream van outside, so I may have to run out and get myself a whippy with a flake. But no, we're going to carry on. But yeah, Lucas is a bit of an unknown. I know the stats there and 11 goals, eight assists last season, would be a bit of a risk. But I think we're going to be in that mark, aren't we, AJ? Gary O 'Neill mentioned at his press conference, we're going to be looking around the globe to sign players. Yeah, he's probably not going to be the main striking target. But I'm liking that time of going in these markets now. And France, I feel like we really do look at that, because definitely with the Azor Manta-Sea was signed last summer.

5:12yeah i mean i definitely think that if he was signed there'd be every chance that he could be the main number nine for up switch next year with what he's been able to deliver i know that um it's easy to look at the fact he's playing in the second tier and kind of sniff at that but um he should not be in the second tier and his goal return shows that almost 20 goal contributions as a striker and that's really well balanced as well and that kind of adds to the all-round number nine thing that I was talking about in terms of what he can offer. Yeah, I really like him. I really think he's a top player.

5:44And that's why you see teams like Porto and Sunderland who have been interested in him. And I think that his future will certainly be a top five club. And it's interesting, as you say, with these kind of links where they often come from, which have certainly done quite a bit of business when they've done the foreign recruitment that's come from France, three that come to mind in Matasiwa. I know Jens wasn't from France specifically, but the bulk of what he's done recently has been over in France and Cedric Kipre as well. So, yeah, I think that's going to be the kind of profile. It'll be interesting to see what Gary O 'Neill is looking at.

6:20There's obviously plenty of strikers linked. I'll be picking out a few potential targets. I think that might be next week. I'd love to wait and see. But, yeah, Stassan is certainly one that I like and I'd be interested to see what Ipswich's stance on him is. If there definitely is some substance in there, we'll try and find out and see if he's won. But as I said, fierce competition. A very good, very talented young player.

6:47Ross Halls:Yeah, well, I didn't have a clue who he was when I saw the link. Watch the clips, Ross. Have a look. Go on TV. He's fantastic. Yeah, really good. All right, then. That's one to keep an eye on. Next striker, AJ, on the list. maybe not someone I know because we played against him this year and um he's currently at Bournemouth but he was on loan at Preston last year and that is Daniel Jefferson a 22 year old forward who is a seven cap international for Canada but he's not the World Cup um for the co-hosts uh which is a bit disappointing really for I'm sure for him but um yeah he spent the last two seasons out on loan um from Bournemouth with Watford originally and then Preston as I said last year only six goals them though in the championship um yeah let us know a bit more aj on this link yeah this one came from team talk it suggested that there's three clubs kind of pushing to land jemison on a permanent deal uh i won't give you any prizes for guessing who those three clubs are and they'll get grouped together a lot i think over this transfer window which is ipswich town coventry city and hull city also keen on signing him it says that ibswich have expressed a firm interest in taking him on a 22 year old although uh Bournemouth currently not really looking to sell him permanently rather looking alone in the championship and that's where you've had another few teams have been linked again in this team talk report Middlesbrough Birmingham Norwich and Blackburn all looking to take him on for the 2026-27 campaign um yep signed from Sheffield United had spells at Watford and Preston an interesting one again team talk for me is a a source where it can be hit and miss.

8:27But obviously when there's a lot of clubs mentioned, and we're talking about three in the Premier League looking to sign in permanently, and I think that was four maybe championship teams interested in loans, that always irks me a bit. And my ultimate thought with Dan Jefferson is I don't think he's at the level at the moment from what I've seen. Certainly some strengths to his game, but given what you need to be to be delivering in the Premier League consistently, I don't think he's there. I think at his stage in his career at 22, he can do with more of a run in the championship, certainly from that Watford spell.

8:59I think that there was loads he needed to work on. Improvement for sure out at Preston. But given what Ipswich will be looking for in the striker market, unless George Hurst was to depart, and I don't think that would happen, this is probably not one that I would imagine Ipswich will be pursuing.

9:17Ross Halls:Poor George Hurst. Hasn't been able to get off the bench yet for Scotland. and they're looking like they're going to be out of the positive cup. Yes. So, but yeah, obviously Stryker is going to be the key position this summer for town. I'm sure Gary O 'Neill's got a few targets in mind. As you mentioned, AJ, you've got a story feature coming up very shortly. Let's talk about goalkeepers now, AJ, because we've got three potential goalkeepers to talk about. Two that's already been linked already and a bit more update on them. But we're going to be speaking to a man who's actually at the World Cup currently with Sweden.

9:50Ross Halls:he plays for Stoke City Victor Johannes Johansson? Close, Johansson Victor Johansson that's alright Russ don't worry yeah he's one that I think a lot of people do like and you can see why because he's kind of come up the divisions a little bit moved to English football with Aston Villa then ended up at Leicester didn't really get an opportunity either really made his name at Rotherham and that was initially in League One they obviously yo-yoed for quite a while but he was excellent at Rotherham, both in League One and in the Championship. He was one of their stars in League One when they were in the Championship.

10:28They were terrible for most of their Championship seasons. He was really the star man. Ended up leaving, I believe it was on a free transfer at the end of his contract, and then joined Stoke. Been one of their best players. He's had an injury issue which kept him out for a little bit, which must be frustrating, but he's a fantastic shot stopper. that's the biggest strength. I know that's kind of obvious to talk about with goalkeepers but look, there's various different things you can look at with what they do with the ball at their feet, with reflexes claiming crosses when it comes to literally stopping shots from hitting the back of the net this is where Victor Johansson stands out when you look at his highlight reel, you look at his save percentages, the stats in the championship, the numbers that he's been posting, he's fantastic so this one's a report that's come from a Swedish news outlet called Sportbladet, who said that Ipswich are monitoring him along with Aston Villa, his former club, and also Hull as well, mentioned again.

11:27I can't really speak too much on the reliability of the source because it's really difficult with these foreign rumours. But like you, he's certainly, if Ipswich are in the market for a number one and maybe aren't looking at going and spending, say, 15, 20, 25 million to go and get someone from abroad or a Carl Rushworth or something like that, then I think they could do far, far worse than Johansson. It would be a step-up from a mid-table championship team, but he's handled step-ups before, and I think he would be a fantastic addition if they went down that route.

12:00Ross Halls:Yeah, a big thing, though, he did sign a new four-year deal recently, so that could be a bit of a stumbling block. Stoke has got an asset there, and I'm sure they want a good fee for him. But if you know Victor, if you know the Premier League club's in for him, and especially, you know, potential return out to Villa, he may push for the move. But we shall see. Let's have a little bit of an update on Nick Pope then, AJ. This is sort of becoming, I would say a saga because it's still very, you know, early days in the summer. But there's been plenty of updates on this. Yeah, keep up to speed, my friend.

12:30Yeah, let's touch on a couple of goalkeepers within this. I think Pope is obviously the one that you hear about the most. And it's kind of like one where you hear it's at different stages, is what we've had a lot of. The first report is that they've been contact from ipswich then it was well we don't know about what the situation is with kieran mckenna the deal was on hold and then you hear uh things about five million pound fees and oh you know o 'neill seems to be someone that's keen at the moment the understanding that we have with the situation is he is someone that such like he is someone that when they go into the market for a goalkeeper they will be interested in i would imagine the fee probably with a year left on his deal and the 34 would probably be in that£5 million mark.

13:11And I'm sure that the interest from Leeds will be genuine, as has been reported. But yeah, it's currently no further at the moment, and it's not been kind of stopped or started, I don't think, with Kieran McKenna's departure. We know that deals have been progressing in the background. That's something that Mark Ashton said last week, but this is not one that at the moment has moved beyond the point of Ipswich liking the player. should be stressed as well that Ipswich are working with goalkeeper.com again, which they did a couple of years ago in signing Aaron Muric, so make of that what you will.

13:48And he's not the only goalkeeper that's been linked. Obviously, we've spoken about Johansson, but Radek Vitek was the other one, and his name's been coming up a load at the moment. It's been hard to find really strong, credible reports for quite a while. The Athletic had mentioned that Vitek was probably looking at an exit, but now we have had that credible report it's come from the daily mail we've linked um let me get this right whole city again with um this one and also commentary yes there you go commentary and hull um i feel like we're just gonna be tied together for this entire season now uh when it comes to transfer rumors uh yeah among several premier league clubs keen on the 22 year old he's been at bristol city last year um i know that one of the bbc radio humberside reporters has spoken about Hull's interest in him and said that they're struggling to agree a fee at the moment with Manchester United.

14:41They're currently possibly facing a points deduction for their spending, Hull, if they don't make some sales. So they're in a tricky spot. We'll see what Ipswich's position is with someone like Radek Vitek, but more reports coming now. It's less clear necessarily whether Vitek is one of those on the list. I'd imagine he is, but it's becoming crystal clear that a goalkeeper is going to be towards the top of the shopping list for Ipswich.

15:06Ross Halls:Oh, there we go. Another Czech goalkeeper. We've had a few in recent years. There's Thomas Holy, the 6 '9 giant. Then, of course, Vaklag Halakli. Oh, nearly there. It's been years for us. Yes, we shall see. But, yeah, goalkeepers. Let's now talk a bit of a left-field link here, AJ. Manu Duan? Yeah. Yeah, 21-year-old, versatile player from Ghana, but currently playing for San Diego in the MLS. San Diego to Suffolk. Yeah, that would be a fun one. I suppose you're going from one coastal area to near one coastal area. You never know. He might go take himself down to Felixstowe and live there. I'm not sure if he's going from the beaches of San Diego to Felixstowe.

15:57That might be quite a shift for him, wouldn't it? yeah this one was a report that came out last night so Wednesday evening from Peter Rourke the transfer expert who says the Ipswich are rivaling West Ham to sign him let's start with his background and his career really interesting born in Accra in Ghana had kind of one season playing as a freshman at UC Santa Barbara had 14 14 appearances for them I believe they're called the Gauchos which is quite a nice name yeah he started all 14 of those, had a really strong record and has widely been considered one of the most exciting prospects to come out of college football, college soccer over in the United States.

16:43Still such a young player, 21 years of age. He was picked in the MLS Super Draft in 2025 by San Diego. Became the first ever draft pick for the club. They do drafts over there. It's a little bit weird and and the manager there, Mikey Varas, had spoken about him having the potential to dominate the league. And he's kind of brought in and done really well. He's made 14 appearances for them in this kind of current season at the moment. He's looking like a really exciting prospect. He's at 21, is 6 '4", so you've got the physical side there. He is a big boy. And you can see where the appeal would be.

17:27definitely in someone like him and also knowing that for a club like Ipswich you want to focus on building towards what the future is going to be. So I don't have any reason to doubt Peter Rourke. We've seen maybe hit and miss at times but yeah, I think it's one of those that would be with an eye on the future. I certainly wouldn't be expecting him to come in and play more than a handful of Premier League minutes if he was someone that would be signed and it's good that Ipswich have that foundation with Premier League too. I know he's 21, but still you'd want to give him that foundation, possibly a loan back or another loan out.

18:05But yeah, exciting player, real talent by the looks of it and one who's held in high regard. But with West Ham and I'd imagine probably a few others sniffing around.

18:14Ross Halls:I just like that. It could be a hidden gem. I like that once he were going to different markets and he's probably an eye on for the future. I just quickly checked on the forecast in San Diego. It is currently hotter here than it is in San Diego. Get over here, Manu. Get over here for the next few months, Manu. But when you get to December, you may go, I want to go back to San Diego. But yeah, watch the space on that. And well, watch space on all the potential incoming links there. And I'm sure there's been many more. We've only had one episode so far that is sort of jinxed or where there's been like a rumor that's come out after we recorded.

18:49Ross Halls:So I can imagine that may happen now with Gary O 'Neill in the role. And it's now getting to that start, you know, getting close to July now, where hopefully there'll be new signings in the door very shortly. But AJ, there'll be departures at the club. We've got three links of potential departures. One is technically out of contract in a few days' time. And that is Wes Burns. And he's been linked to a League One side, my friend. Let us know a little bit more on this. Yeah, this is obviously... you don't need too much backstory on Wes Burns. We all know Wes Burns. We all love Wes Burns, and we all know what Wes Burns' situation is.

19:26He's out of contract this year. He's come back from an ACL injury, done really well. He's called some very important goals this season, this past season rather. And now we need to figure out what's future. There's going to be Ipswich Town remaining talks with Wes about what that looks like and a potential new deal. But there's no denying that the managerial swap with Kieran McKenna leaving, who's been obviously instrumental in Wes's career, you could go and say, and Gary O 'Neill coming in. That could change things for sure. So yeah, we're waiting to see what the future is going to be there, but no surprise that there's links.

20:03One of those is Sheffield Wednesday, recently taken over. They were relegated, of course. It ended up with zero points in the championship following their points deduction, but managed to avoid the administration kind of points deduction that would have come with their takeover had it been done under a certain amount. So they will start with zero next year rather than negative points. And the new owners have come in and want to be ambitious and want to really put some money around. And you can understand why Wes Burns, has been reported by the Sheffield Star, is someone that they would like. I think that would be difficult, to be honest.

20:38I think Wes will get some really good offers. We heard and it's been reported in that Sheffield Star piece that there's been MLS interest. I think we believe that's from San Jose Earthquakes, from what I've been hearing. So, yeah, that's kind of the situation there. And it's going to be a case of seeing what happens with Wes's future, what Gary O 'Neill thinks, what options Wes has. Would he want to take his family to the US? Would they want to relocate up north? Are there any other possibilities there? Would his boyhood club Cardiff come calling back? I think it will end up being a championship move for Wes.

21:14My gut is that he probably won't remain at Ipswich, which is difficult to say. But with McKenna leaving, it feels like we're now really hitting that new era at Ipswich Town. And I would expect Wes to depart, but I'm not totally convinced that it'd be Sheffield Wednesday as his next destination.

21:31Ross Halls:Yeah, I'm sure he just wants now a long-term contract somewhere. And funny enough, as you were speaking, I just quickly checked to see if they had a bit of a crossover, Gary O 'Neill, Wes Burns at Bristol City. And funny enough, they did for a very brief, basically the summer of 26 summer of 2016 that's this summer he, Gary Neal signed on a free transfer from those up the road and then Wes Burns was at the club at the time but then 14 days later he went out on loan to Aberdeen so they may have had a brief little interaction pre-season so they were teammates for a brief while and then Wes Burns then went to sign for Fleetwood in the January so So you never know.

22:11Ross Halls:They may have had a little interaction, but just a little side note on Wes Burns and Gary O 'Neill. But we'll have to watch his space. But as I say, the 1st of July, he's out of contract. So we shall see. Next up, AJ's Harry Clark, who an option was taken on his contract. He was going to be set to his contract expiring this summer, but he's here. But he's linked to a move to Bristol City. He's had a pretty good loan spell from what I hear from Charlton Athletic. fans and I think they actually would like to have him back. I'm sure Harry Clark is just looking at his options. But yeah, Bristol City are the team linked, my friend, at the moment.

22:49Yeah, they're the ones at the moment. They're the first ones of the summer and I'd imagine that there's a good chance that there will be more because I think, let's be honest, the expectation, you can never say a certainty, but I think we can say fairly surely that Harry Clark will be heading for the exit, heading into the final year of his contract. and with it switched back into the premier league um there's strong right back options currently at the club where you've got ben johnson and we've got um wow that's totally escaped me and we've got um sorry listeners it's been a really long and hot day i pictured his face exactly who he was the words just weren't coming it's just my love for ben johnson that's just yeah blocked out, Darnell Furlong.

23:37Sorry, Darnell. It's been a long and hot day. It's almost time to clock off work. Yeah, and Darnell Furlong, so strong options in that position. And, dearie me, yeah, it looks like Harry Clarke will head towards the exit door. I would imagine it's come off the back of a couple of mixed lines. I think the Sheffield United one was a bit hit and miss, showed some good things, some less good things, and hurt by injuries. And then this past year, he's been excellent, I think, from from what we've seen and heard from him at Charlton. So I'm sure they would like him back. But if teams like Bristol City are in the mix, I think there's a feeling at Charlton that it will be difficult to get that one done.

24:16So yeah, it's been reported by the BBC that Bristol City are interested in signing him. I'd imagine it wouldn't take a huge fee to get him out of Ipswich this summer. And yeah, watch and see. It's interesting to see how the Robins are looking to kind of build again after another managerial change. They've got the new boss in now. So that's kind of going to be an interesting one. Michael Scubala coming from Lincoln City, wanting to add some players that he'll be keen on. I think they've got a new director of football there. I think it's quite clear that he'll be heading down to the championship.

24:51It is how I'd see it, and I wouldn't be surprised. It's a very reliable source, isn't it, the BBC? So, yeah, could see this one happening.