Ipswich Town in talks to keep 35-year-old after recent announcement
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has said the club are in talks to keep Sone Aluko onboard in a new role following his retirement.
Ipswich Town are facing an important summer as they gear up for Premier League football.
A number of new faces will arrive at Portman Road and that will almost certainly see some move on. One confirmed to be ending their time as a Town player is Sone Aluko, as he announced his retirement upon the end of his playing contract.
Aluko was on the fringes of McKenna’s playing squad but played a key role off the pitch and in the dressing room as the Tractor Boys completed a remarkable rise from the Championship.
However, while he’s hanging up the boots, the 35-year-old may well have a future at Ipswich Town.
As quoted by the East Anglian Daily Times, McKenna waxed lyrical over Aluko before revealing that talks are taking place to keep the Nigerian at the club ‘in one capacity or another’. He said:
“We hope that Sone will stay with us in one capacity or another. His agent is going to speak to Mark about that.
“The highest paid coach in Premier League history is what he’s pushing for,” he added jokingly.
A future in the game
Plenty of players go on to hold coaching roles or other positions in football following their decision to end their playing careers and it could be that Aluko follows that well-trodden path too.
McKenna is clearly a huge admirer of his abilities away from the playing setting, which bodes well as he weighs up his next move after retirement.
The vast experienced gained over his career will be of great use should he become a manager, coach or backroom team member in the years to come. Time will tell just what comes of Aluko’s immediate future though.
Worth keeping around?
As Ipswich Town make the step up to the Premier League, it could be worth keeping the retiring attacking midfielder at the club.
McKenna highlighted the key role he had to play away from the pitch and keeping positive characters who have already been a part of the remarkable promotion achievement will be key. Aluko’s off-pitch influence could be hard to replace as the club look to retain the core of the group that pulled off back-to-back promotions.
In a club where plenty is set to change in the coming months, a stay for Aluko might just prove to be a valuable bit of business as he transitions to a post-playing career.
