Signed by Keane: Ipswich loan ace who left in 2010 is struggling in Turkey
Ipswich Town have been on an incredible journey over the last few seasons.
Kieran McKenna has led the Tractor Boys from League One up to the Premier League in a matter of years, and now the club are able to splash the cash on exciting young players like Liam Delap and Jack Clarke, who could be the ones to keep them up.
However, while permanent signings might be the order of business today, the Suffolk side are no strangers to the loan market and, over the last ten to 15 years, have welcomed their fair share of talented players to Portman Road for a temporary stay.
That said, these deals aren’t always a roaring success, even if the player in question has the talent, as demonstrated by someone signed under Roy Keane’s tenure and is now struggling in the Turkish Süper Lig.
Ipswich’s loan stars
So before we get to the individual in question, let’s look at a couple of loanees who did excel during their time with Ipswich, starting with a recent one, Omari Hutchinson.
The Tractor Boys signed the then-19-year-old on a season-long deal from Chelsea last summer, and despite being so young, the incredibly talented Englishman took his chance with both hands and made a real name for himself in East Anglia.
For example, in his 50 appearances across all competitions, the Redhill-born dynamo racked up a seriously impressive haul of 11 goals and six assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 2.94 games and clearly impressing the powers that be as the club then paid £20m for him in the summer.
Turning the clock back a little further now, another Chelsea youngster who was outstanding while on loan at Portman Road was Trevoh Chalobah, who joined for a season in June 2018.
Throughout the 18/19 campaign, the then 18-year-old made 44 appearances for the team and was so impressive that he came third in the fans’ Player of the Year vote that April.
However, not every loan is as fruitful, even if the loanee has the skills to make it so.
Ipswich’s loanee struggling in Turkey
So, the player in question is none other than Andros Townsend, who joined Keane’s Ipswich on what was supposed to be a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2010.
He wouldn’t even last until the new year, as Harry Redknapp instructed the Lilywhites to recall the then-19-year-old in December of the same year over concerns that he was not getting enough game time under the Irishman’s management.
However, while the former Spurs boss was right that his young player wasn’t getting much game time, it was because he wasn’t performing well enough in the chances he was given.
