Opinion: Ipswich Town should consider move for Chelsea defender should Axel Tuanzebe approach fail
Should the Tractor Boys’ approach for free agent Tuanzebe fail, then they could do worse than try to sign Bashir Humphreys on loan
Kieran McKenna has transformed Ipswich Town’s playing style since joining from Manchester United, bringing entertainment and scoring prowess.
Despite their solid performance last season, Ipswich Town has focused on solidifying their midfield and attack rather than strengthening their defence.
With the potential signing of free agent Axel Tuanzebe uncertain, Ipswich could turn to Chelsea’s Bashir Humphreys as a back-up option to strengthen their defence.
Despite not even winning the League One title last season, there is great expectation and excitement from many over seeing Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town in the Championship.
The Tractor Boys have been away for four years and they stalled in the third tier of English football in that time, with both Paul Lambert and Paul Cook sacked for poor performances.
McKenna arrived though from Manchester United in late 2021 and has transformed the way that Town play – they were easy on the eye to watch in 2022-23 and they brought a lot of entertainment to the table, scoring 101 times in the league and only conceding 35 goals in the process.
Town were solid at both ends of the pitch but this summer so far, it has been their midfield and attack that they have solidified, with the permanent additions of Jack Taylor and George Hirst, whilst Omari Hutchinson has arrived on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
They were never short on goals last season, but it’s perhaps a surprise that McKenna has not yet looked to add to his defensive unit.
f playing a back four, then he has two very good full-backs in Harry Clarke and Leif Davis, but it is in the middle where the Northern Irishman could look to add.
George Edmundson, Luke Woolfenden, Cameron Burgess and Janoi Donacien are McKenna’s options right now, but with just 23 Championship outings between those four – 10 each coming from Edmundson and Donacien and three from Woolfenden – there is a lack of experience at the level.
Of course, Edmundson and Woolfenden have developed into very good defenders but the former struggled with injury last season, so it was a surprise that the Suffolk outfit hadn’t targeted a new centre-back – until this week.
A report from TEAMtalk claimed that McKenna was looking into a deal for free agent defender Axel Tuanzebe, who he will know very well from his time as a first-team coach at Man United when the DR Congo-born player was on the books at Old Trafford.
Who is Bashir Humphreys?
Humphreys is probably a name that isn’t familiar to EFL fans as he has played just the once for Chelsea at senior level, with that coming in an FA Cup clash with Chelsea in January.
The 20-year-old, who came through the Blues academy and has played for England at three different youth levels, has been a regular for the under-21’s at Stamford Bridge for a few years now and was sent on his first loan stint away earlier this year when he signed for Paderborn in Germany.
Humphreys played 12 times in the second tier of German football and will have come away better for the experience, but he now looks ready for a stint in the Championship.
The young centre-back has been starting regularly in pre-season for Chelsea, but the likelihood is that when the Premier League season begins he will be let out on loan.
Stoke City and Coventry have both been linked this summer, but with both sides getting other defenders in through the door, it may have left the coast clear for someone like Ipswich to pounce.
Would Bashir Humphreys be available to sign for Ipswich?
With Chelsea close to landing Axel Disasi from Monaco, Mauricio Pochettino is going to be stacked at centre-back.
Disasi will add to Levi Colwill, Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah at Stamford Bridge, and with no European football to worry about in 2023-24, four defenders should be more than enough to cope with.
That should free Humphreys to go out on loan in the coming weeks, and with his team-mate Hutchinson already at Portman Road, Chelsea may see McKenna’s side as the perfect fit – especially the way they play stylistically.
With Humphreys being left-footed as well, he would add more balance to the back-line, especially when playing a back three as Clarke, Edmundson and Woolfenden are all predominantly stronger with their right feet.
Ipswich are so far not a club that have been linked with Humphreys but it would make sense if they were a club that were keeping tabs on his situation.
