Cameron Humphreys [left] and Elkan Baggott [right] could leave Ipswich Town on loan in January
Cameron Humphreys [left] and Elkan Baggott [right] could leave Ipswich Town on loan in January
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has admitted that Cameron Humphreys and Elkan Baggott could leave the club on loan in the January transfer window.
The youngsters have had minimal game time recently. Humphreys has played just nine minutes of Championship football across two games back in August – as well as 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup exit at Bromley – while Baggott hasn’t played senior football since his loan spell at Blackpool came to an end back in May.
Both players scored for the Under-21s in yesterday’s 3-0 win against Charlton Athletic against Portman Road. However, with opportunities in the first team limited, they could be on the move when the January transfer window opens to gain experience elsewhere.
“It’s certainly a discussion point,” McKenna said. “They have both been really unlucky, to be honest.
“I think it’s our injury record, first and foremost. It’s been really hard to predict that we’d have had – I’m trying to think off the top of my head what we’ve had, other than Wes [Burns] and Conor [Townsend], who were injured before the season. It’s been really, really minimal over the course of the year
“We’ve carried 22 bodies all year, which we’re comfortable with. You’re usually banking on having a fair few unavailable, but generally we’ve had the large, large, large majority of that group available all the time.
“The likes of Elkan, Cameron and Harry Clarke, to be fair, have had to be very patient and train well. Certainly those two young – not so young anymore – professionals. They are outstanding every day in their training and their application, still improving all the time and they are big assets to have as part of the group.
“But they need game time in their development as well.
“We’ll try and make the right decisions in January. There’s always a right balance between what’s the best thing for each player, especially for our young players, but also making sure that we have enough strength in depth in the group.
“Things can change really, really quickly, as much as we’ve had absolutely minimal injuries in the first half of the season. You’ve seen before in seasons previous that they often come in spades, and all of a sudden you have a large number in a couple of fixtures.
“Then the group would be looking really different, and players who are on the outside at the moment would have big roles to play.
“We’ve got four games in 10 days, so there’s no thoughts from anyone at the moment, other than everyone being able to contribute. Then we’ll make the judgements after that.”
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