Ipswich fighting to sign a star who’s “made of iron”

Ipswich Town were given another reminder of the gigantic task they are facing in the second half of the season when Manchester City visited Portman Road on Sunday.

The Tractor Boys are in the relegation zone, but are within touching distance of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and their efforts to climb to safety were not boosted by their clash with Pep Guardiola’s side.

Kieran McKenna’s men were swept aside with relative ease as the champions secured a 6-0 win, with the scoreline safe enough for them to take Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden, and Erling Haaland off the pitch with 30 minutes to go.

The January transfer window is open for business, though, and this means that they have the chance to add more quality to the squad, in an attempt to avoid relegation straight back down to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Ipswich have already brought in two new signings with Premier League experience. Ben Godfrey arrived on loan from Atalanta and Jaden Philogdene has been signed from Aston Villa on a permanent deal.

The Tractor Boys are now, however, reportedly interested in a deal to sign a player who was playing football in the Championship in the 2023/24 campaign.

Ipswich’s interest in Ligue 1 dynamo

According to French outlet L’Equipe, Ipswich are one of a number of clubs eyeing up a swoop to sign Rennes central midfielder Glen Kamara this month.

The report claims that a return to England is on the cards for the former Arsenal academy graduate, who only signed for the Ligue 1 club from Leeds United last summer.

It states that several teams are fighting it out to secure his services for the second half of the season, including Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Southampton, and Turkish outfit Trabzonspor.

The outlet adds that Trabzonspor are currently the most active team in the race, as they look to snap him up ahead of the interested parties from England.

This shows that Ipswich will face plenty of competition to strike a deal for the Finland international before the end of the January transfer window, which means that they may have to act quickly if they want to bring him to Portman Road.

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L’Equipe does not, however, reveal whether or not Rennes are willing to send the £30k-per-week gem out on loan or if they would prefer to sell him on a permanent basis, whilst there is also no mention of any potential transfer fee for the ex-Rangers star.

Whether it is on loan or a permanent move, Ipswich’s interest in Kamara in the January transfer window will come as bad news to club captain Sam Morsy, who plays in his position.

Sam Morsy’s form this season

Ipswich’s rapid rise from League One to the Premier League, with back-to-back promotions, has led to several players, essentially, making the jump from the third tier to the top-flight within 18 months or so.

This has meant that several stars from the promotion-winning side in League One, and in the Championship, have not been able to successfully make the step up to the Premier League.

Morsy has not been a complete disaster in the top-flight because he has, at least, been a consistent starter for McKenna – starting 19 of his 20 appearances – rather than being moved on or left on the bench week-in-week-out.

The Egypt international has made 3.2 tackles and interceptions per game, attempting to provide a combative presence in the middle of the park, but has also committed almost as many fouls (1.9) as tackles made (2.2) per match on average.

As you can see in the table above, Morsy has lost the majority of his physical battles in the Premier League and has been far too prone to mistakes, with four errors directly leading to shots for the opposition.

The 33-year-old veteran, who has been dribbled past regularly in midfield, should, therefore, be concerned about a new arrival in his position, as it could have an impact on his game time.

Why Ipswich should sign Glen Kamara

Ipswich should push to win the race for Kamara before the window officially slams shut at the end of next month because he could come in as an upgrade on Morsy in the middle of the park.

The Finland international may be more suited to what the Tractor Boys need in midfield as they attempt to avoid relegation from the Premier League, due to his strength in duels and his security in possession.

Neil McCann, his former boss at Dundee, once described the midfielder as being “made of iron” and his physical statistics for Leeds and Rennes help to back that up, as he has won 58% of his ground duels in Ligue 1 this season and won 58% of his battles in the Championship last term.

The 29-year-old ace has only started eight times in the French top-flight, completing 91% of his attempted passes with no errors that led to shots for the opposition, but caught the eye as a regular in England in the 2023/24 campaign.

As you can see in the table above, Kamara’s form for Rennes and Leeds shows that he is incredibly secure in possession and rarely gives the ball away, whilst Morsy has made four errors that have directly led to shots this season.

This suggests that the Finnish maestro could offer more quality in possession in comparison to the Ipswich skipper, by using his technical ability to retain the ball for the Blues.

Opposition players also find it harder to get the better of Kamara in midfield, as shown by him winning 58% of his duels and only being dribbled past 15 times last season, which suggests that he could also be an upgrade on Morsy off the ball.

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Overall, the former Leeds man has the quality, in and out of possession, to come in and take over Morsy’s role as a regular starter in the middle of the park, which is why the club’s interest in him is bad news for the Ipswich captain, who could find himself on the bench in the second half of the season.