Manager of Ipswich Town, Kieran McKenna - Ipswich Town v Exeter City, Sky Bet League One, Portman Road, Ipswich, UK - 29th April 2023 Editorial Use Only - DataCo restrictions apply (Manager of Ipswich Town, Kieran McKenna - Ipswich Town v Exeter City
Bargain Ipswich Town transfer can help club seal £100m+ jackpot:
Al-Hamadi has scored four goals in nine Championship appearances for the Tractor Boys since his arrival in January
Ipswich Town, in 3rd place, are in the mix for automatic promotion with 81 points.
Recent success fueled by January signings Moore and Al-Hamadi making an impact.
Al-Hamadi’s late brace vs. Sheffield Wednesday shows he may be crucial for Ipswich in high-pressure games.
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town are in the automatic promotion picture as we enter the closing stages of the 2023/24 Championship campaign and Saturday’s 6-0 victory over relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday is an indicator that the Tractor Boys really mean business.
The three points McKenna’s men secured on Saturday sees the Tractor Boys sitting third on 81 points, just one point behind both league leaders Leeds United and second place Leicester City, but the Foxes have a game in hand over both.
Town endured a tricky run of form with just one league win in January, but McKenna and co have now picked themselves back up with seven wins and just two defeats from their last 10 Championship outings.
A key factor for the Tractor Boys’ return to form has been the impact of their January signings, as former Cardiff City forward Kieffer Moore has scored six goals in his first 10 appearances since joining on loan from Premier League outfit Bournemouth.
Fellow January signing Ali Al-Hamadi, who joined the Tractor Boys permanently from League Two AFC Wimbledon, has also proved to be an asset at Portman Road already.
Al-Hamadi’s impact off the bench could be key
Despite the quality of Leeds and Leicester, the aim for the Portman Road outfit at the end of the season must still be automatic promotion after the successful season they have enjoyed so far.
Of course, it is still possible for McKenna’s men to achieve promotion via the play-offs but while the door to automatic promotion is still open, it is an opportunity the Suffolk outfit must try and grab with both hands.
Promotion to the Premier League would supply the club with the sort of riches that would have felt intangible this time last season, when they were in League One. It is widely thought that getting out of the Championship is worth north of £100m.
But now McKenna’s outfit find themselves just eight games away from the Premier League, if they are able to maintain their current form and hope for a slip from the Foxes or Whites along the way.
Al-Hamadi has scored four goals in nine Championship appearances since his arrival in January, despite never making McKenna’s starting lineup.
Ipswich signed the Iraq international for £1m, which now seems like a bargain given the early impact he has had at Portman Road.
Sheffield Wednesday brace shows there is more to come from Al-Hamadi
The 22-year-old was introduced to the action after 72 minutes on Saturday when his side already held a 4-0 lead, but the fact he scored a brace in a short cameo demonstrates the eye for goal Al-Hamadi boasts.
As the race for promotion heats up in the coming weeks, Ipswich will find themselves in high-pressure situations in which they need quickfire goals, and their January signing has proven that he could be the right man for that job.
The condensed nature of the current Championship table suggests that this season’s battle for the second tier title is going right down to the wire, and late goals off the substitutes’ bench from Al-Hamadi could be exactly what McKenna’s side need to secure the Championship’s ultimate prize of automatic promotion and that £100m+ payout.
