New Ipswich Town signing Jaden Philogene says he picked the Blues over a host of other clubs – and wants to become the best player he can be under boss Kieran McKenna,

The 22-year-old winger finally signed from Aston Villa late last night, in a deal worth £20m plus add-ons.

He wasn’t signed in time to play in tonight’s clash with Brighton (7.30pm, TNT Sports), but could make his debut against defending Premier League champs Manchester City in Suffolk on Sunday (4.30pm, Sky Sports).

In a short first interview with the club on TownTV, Philogene was asked if there was interest from other clubs this month.

“Yeah, of course,” he replied. “But I picked Ipswich.”

Of what excites him about signing for Town, he added: “Playing in the Premier League and showcasing my skills in front of a beautiful crowd.

“I know they have great players, and I know some of them off the pitch as well.”

Boss Kieran McKenna has wanted to sign Philogene for some time, with the winger almost heading to Suffolk in the summer before Villa activated their buyback clause.

So, now he’s a Town player, what has McKenna said to him?

Philogene revealed: “Getting me in and playing as many games as possible, get my head down and work hard, and just be the best player I can be.”

Of what fans can expect of him as a player, he added: “As a player I just like to dribble, link up play, do skills, score and assist.”

Philogene has already played at Portman Road this season, having come on as a 64th minute sub for Villa in their pulsating 2-2 draw with Town back in September.

And, with home games surely key for the Blues as they bid to stay in the Premier League, Philogene confirmed that the vocal home faithful make it a tough place to play for visiting teams.

“It’s a challenge!” he revealed. “You guys were… you don’t look like a team that’s just been promoted to be fair, a very strong team.”

Manchester City will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they travel to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon.

After putting together a three-game winning run in all competitions, the Citizens were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw with Brentford on Tuesday night after letting a two-goal lead slip in the final eight minutes.

While Pep Guardiola‘s side currently sit sixth in the Premier League table, Ipswich are down in 18th place, inside the relegation zone only by goal difference, after losing 2-0 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday night.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.

Head-to-head record

Man City and Ipswich have butted heads a total of 67 times across all competitions over the years, and it is the Tractor Boys who marginally lead the overall head-to-head record as they have won 28 games compared to the Citizens’ 24, while 15 draws have been played out between the two teams.

Sixty-four years have passed since these two clubs faced off for the very first time back in August 1961, when a six-goal thriller was played out at Portman Road as Man City secured a 4-2 top-flight win courtesy of two late goals from Peter Dobing.

Man City won six of their first 11 meetings with Ipswich, including a 4-0 victory at Maine Road in November 1964 when both teams were competing in the second tier, before they faced each other in 15 consecutive top-flight seasons between 1968 and 1983.

While Man City won just eight times, including once in the FA Cup and once in the EFL Cup triumph, Ipswich came out on top in 15 games against the Citizens in the top division, and there were also five draws.

In the Premier League era (since 1992-93), Man City and Ipswich have only locked horns on nine occasions; the first six were in each of the first three seasons of the newly-branded top tier, with the Citizens winning five and drawing one.

Ipswich were relegated in 1994-95, but they were joined in the second tier by Man City just a year later and the Tractor Boys enjoyed a brief spell of dominance over their North West counterparts, winning four successive league games by an aggregate score of 6-2 between April 1997 and October 1999.

In the 2000-01 Premier League campaign, Man City suffered a 3-2 home defeat to Ipswich, six months before the Tractor Boys completed the double by winning 2-1 at Portman Road. The Citizens got their revenge in January 2002, though, as a brace from Shaun Goater and goals from both Eyal Berkovic and Darren Huckerby helped secure a 4-1 away victory in the FA Cup fourth round.

Twenty-two years later, Man City welcomed Ipswich to the Etihad Stadium and celebrated another 4-1 win, this time in the Premier League thanks to a hat-trick from Erling Haaland and a strike from Kevin De Bruyne.

Last 20 meetings

Last nine Premier League meetings

The last few years have been nothing short of a roller coaster for Ipswich Town.

The Tractor Boys have gone from mid-table mediocrity in League One to the Premier League in the blink of an eye, thanks to a mixture of incredibly underrated players and the genius of Kieran McKenna.

However, while their fairytale ascent up the league has been sensational, the Suffolk side now have half a campaign to try and keep themselves in the top flight, where they belong.

Fortunately, results have started to pick up in recent weeks, and there is a chance to add more quality to the team this month, specifically in the midfield.

Ipswich’s midfield stars

Now, the star of the show for Ipswich this season has undoubtedly been the incredible Liam Delap, who looks like one of the best strikers in the league, with a close second potentially being full-back phenom Leif Davis.

However, while they have not received the same plaudits from the wider footballing world, the Tractor Boys have more than a couple of midfielders who’ve looked at home in the top flight.

For example, summer signing Omari Hutchinson has made 11 appearances in the middle of the park this season, in which he’s scored twice and picked up one assist, while club captain Sam Morsy has played 18 games between central and defensive midfield for McKenna this year, also managing to score and assist a goal in the process.

Alongside the captain this term, it has been either Jens Cajuste, who has racked up 15 appearances thus far, or Kalvin Phillips, who, while looking shakey here and there, has the ability to do a job in defensive midfield and has 13 appearances to his name.

In short, while most of them are unspectacular players, Ipswich’s current crop of midfield options are managing to hold their own in the Premier League, but according to reports from earlier this month, they could soon have some more help as the club are said to be interested in former Chelsea star Nemanja Matic.

However, while the Serbian international is a vastly experienced player and a big name to boot, the Blues might have already been linked to a perfect alternative late last month.

So, to get straight to the point, the potential alternative is former Leeds United star Glen Kamara.

According to a report from journalist Graeme Bailey late last month, the 6 foot titan, who joined Ligue 1 side Stade Rennes in the summer for just £8.4m, has caught the attention of several clubs, including Ipswich and Southampton.

It’s unclear how much the French side would want for the former Rangers star, but as he’s played just 43% of available league minutes this term, we wouldn’t be surprised if they’d be willing to accept a fee close to the one they paid in the summer.

However, though he hasn’t played as much football as perhaps he would have liked this season, there are a couple of reasons why he could be an ideal alternative to Matic for the Tractor Boys.

The first is that when we take a look under the hood and compare the midfielders’ underlying numbers from this season, it is the Finnish “monster,” as dubbed by former manager Steven Gerrard, who comes out on top.

On top of having the statistical argument, there is also a significant one around the longevity of the players, as at 29 years old, the Rennes ace could keep playing at the top level for seasons to come, whereas, at 36, the former Serbian international is undoubtedly close to hanging up his boots.

Lastly, the former Manchester United star is currently earning around £97k-per-week, while the 65-capped Fin is on a far more reasonable wage of £29k-per-week, which, when combined with his underlying numbers and age, makes him a far more attractive alternative for a relegation-threatened side who may need to bring in more players this month.

Ultimately, Matic has had a sensational career at the very top of the game, but as things stand, it would make far more sense for Ipswich to try and court Kamara this month.

Regis Le Bris will hope for further incomings at the Stadium of Light as he bids to lead Sunderland back to the big time this term, having already pulled off the sensational loan signing of Roma midfielder Enzo Le Fee.

The Frenchman’s hotly-anticipated arrival on Wearside is surely going to offer a fresh boost to Sunderland’s promotion hopes, with the Black Cats currently placed fourth but with just a slender three-point gap from league leaders Leeds United.

Sunderland, however, are visibly not intent on stopping there and should amplify their pursuit of additional attacking options to bring Broadhead back to the North East.

This month, it’s all about fine-tuning as opposed to wholesale change.

Le Bris has been able to get a new and unprecedented tune out of this squad, some of whom had sorely struggled in the Championship last season, and Sunderland are one of the division’s very best teams in both boxes.

 mooted as a potential sticking point during Sunderland’s electrifying start to the campaign and while they have weathered the storm and remain firmly in automatic promotion contention at this stage, both ill-luck and the shortage of options throughout the camp have left them in a difficult position.

Romaine Mundle, who has been in inspired form this term, has been out injured since November, and his replacement – 18-year-old sensation Tommy Watson – is poised to face a further month on the sidelines after being struck down against Stoke City last month.

They are, of course, Sunderland’s two wide-left options, and Le Bris has been forced into bringing attacking midfielder Adil Aouchiche out of relative exile to fill in there with mixed results.

It’s something which Sunderland are very intent on addressing, mind you. They are among a range of second-tier suitors linked with a move for Aston Villa hotshot Louie Barry, who was recently recalled from a stunning loan spell in League One with Stockport County.

According to separate reports, Sunderland joined Sheffield Wednesday in enquiring about the services of Rangers winger Rabbi Matondo, although the former Cardiff and Manchester City prospect is now seemingly set to seal an overseas switch, leaving the Black Cats to consider alternative options.

Admittedly, the market for quality and experienced left-sided wingers is rather thin at the minute, but that isn’t to say options are not available.

One player who may well be is ex-Black Cats loan star Broadhead, who is enduring a tough old time of it at Ipswich this season and is primed to only fall further down McKenna’s pecking order with the Tractor Boys closing in on the signing of Philogene, a long-time target, from Aston Villa for a reported £20 million sum.

Akin to a number of the players who inspired Ipswich to consecutive promotions from the third-tier to the Premier League, Broadhead has found game time immensely difficult to come by in Town’s battle against relegation back to the Championship.

Indeed, he has started just two of his side’s 20 top-flight matches to date – which were the last two fixtures against Fulham and Chelsea, it must be said – with competition from the likes of Omari Hutchinson and even one such Jack Clarke proving stiff.

Although Broadhead has been utilised by McKenna as of late, one would have to be surprised if that was to remain the case following the arrival of Philogene, who, with both his price tag and undoubted quality, will be coming in to establish himself as an instant starter.

His peripherial role pales in comparison to the importance he had in their stunning top-flight promotion last time out, with no player at Portman Road outscoring Broadhead’s return of 13 strikes from 38 appearances.

It was very much a breakthrough campaign at Championship level for Broadhead, who proved his worth at second-tier level after enjoying impressive loan spells in League One with Ipswich and, of course, Sunderland back in the 2022/23 term.

The Welsh international returned 10 strikes in just 22 matches, with his stay frustratingly disrupted through injury, but that prior relationship could be capitalised on in Sunderland’s clear search for a new left-winger.

Broadhead brings both creativity and quality in one-v-one scenarios but his considerable goal threat is the outstanding facet of his game.

The Welshman often tends to come inside centrally and run in behind defences, representing a much more direct and decisive profile to the talented, albeit inconsistent Patrick Roberts on the other side.

He would offer, you would like to think, that instant sense of firepower and X-Factor to spearhead Sunderland’s automatic promotion push.

The 26-year-old wide-man has proven himself to be a match-winner on so many occasions in Suffolk and is more than capable of replicating that impact once again.

It’s important to note he instantly hit the ground running with Ipswich after joining in the second-half of the 22/23 season, scoring eight goals and getting a further five assists from just 19 third-tier matches to help their promotion to the Championship.

Such an impact for Sunderland heading into such a crucial stage of the campaign could make all the difference in their search of a Premier League return.