Two Players Who Ipswich Town Need To Sign Before The Transfer Deadline Day
Against the expectations of even their own supporters, Ipswich Town have made an excellent start to the Championship season and currently sit second in the table with 12 points from 5 games.
The club are realistic though and know they probably won’t continue in that vein, with their four wins having come in succession before the weekend defeat at home to Fulham brought them back to reality and highlighted some of their continued failings.
Moves are definitely afoot to rectify this situation though and the following two players may yet be Tractor Boys before August is finally over:
Jack Hobbs (Nottingham Forest)
The 29-year-old defender from Portsmouth is surplus to requirements at the City Ground and has been made available for transfer by Mark Warburton.
A veteran now of some 250 league games for Liverpool, Scunthorpe, Leicester City, Hull City and Forest, Hobbs is the man Mick McCarthy is looking at to help alleviate his central defensive problems. Currently, all three of McCarthy’s senior centre-backs are injured, with Luke Chambers, Tommy Smith and Adam Webster sidelined.
Hobbs knows this league well and that could be crucial in terms of him being a “quick fix” at the back at Portman Road as its thought that bringing in even cheaper alternatives from abroad in this case is far too risky. Ipswich need someone who can hit the ground running and on that score, Hobbs is the right man for the job.
Jonas Olsson (Djurgarden)
McCarthy was spotted in Sweden last week, having been alerted to the availability of the experienced former West Brom man Olsson and a deal could be on the cards before Thursday’s midnight deadline.
Olsson knows the English leagues inside and out having represented West Brom over 260 times at Premier League and Championship level. At 34, he would at least bring vast experience to the Ipswich side, something which in the short to medium term is badly needed.
The 6f 5in left-footed defender has played 25 times for Sweden and is keeping himself going, having played another 14 times for Djurdaren, with the Swedish season ending in November of course. McCarthy has stayed tight-lipped on exactly who he is chasing but has admitted publicly that a deal for at least one centre-half is progressing. It would be a surprise if one or both of these players does not arrive this week.