Ipswich Town pulled a blinder with 2021 transfer – He’s still at Portman Road | OneFootball

Ipswich Town pulled off a blinder of a deal in the summer of 2021 with the purchase of Wes Burns from Fleetwood Town.

Back in the summer of 2021, Ipswich Town were in the midst of what would go on to be an extremely underwhelming big spending summer transfer window – however, they brought in someone who would go on to become something of a club legend.

Under the management of Paul Cook, and in the first transfer window following the takeover of now currently successful ownership group Gamechanger 20 Limited, Ipswich spent big, at least in relative terms for League One at that time.

19 first-team players moved to Portman Road in total, with five on loan and 14 on permanent deals; and a few of them proved to eventually be successful to differing extents such as Cameron Burgess, Samy Morsy and Conor Chaplin.

However, arguably the deal of that summer for the Tractor Boys was their first of the window, as Wes Burns joined the club for an undisclosed fee from Fleetwood Town.

Wes Burns has become a hero at Portman Road

Cardiff-born Burns has emerged as an absolutely brilliant player for Town, and was essential as they earned themselves back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.

Kieran McKenna’s tactical ingenuity has allowed Burns to thrive at Portman Road, with the Wales international adept at filling in as a wing-back initially for McKenna, before becoming an industrious yet technically gifted out and out wide-man in attack.

That out and out wide-man is perhaps actually untrue, with the energy and dedication of Burns often making it seem as though he is playing a hybrid role between defence and attack.

Going on about his industry and his endeavour, though, almost undermines the sheer quality of the 30-year-old, and that quality has been shown consistently through the divisions with his famous ‘trivela’ goal in a 2-1 victory over Coventry City in the 2023/24 season immediately and obviously springing to mind.

Capable of providing a much-needed and impressively versatile aspect to McKenna’s fluid and entertaining style of football, Burns has become an experienced fulcrum of the Tractor Boys’ success in recent years.

Wes Burns may still be a key man for Ipswich Town in 25/26

It was an underwhelming and disappointing relegation for Ipswich from the Premier League last season, even with the understanding and expectation that it would be extremely difficult.

However, alongside a couple of other notable names such as Jens Cajuste and Liam Delap, Burns was one of the more consistent and dependable figures for the Suffolk-based outfit.

That was, though, until Burns suffered a season-ending knee injury suffered against eventual champions Liverpool in a 4-1 loss at Anfield in late-January.

McKenna ruled Burns out for the rest of the season there and then, and explained how Ipswich will “miss him”, and there is a lack of clarity over how long he will remain unavailable for.

Wes Burns' stats at Ipswich

Season

Games

Goals

Assists

2021/22

40

13

6

2022/23

48

9

13

2023/24

38

6

4

2024/25

19

0

1

Source: FotMob

However, the 30-year-old wing-back/winger/attacking midfielder has proven himself to be a player that can adapt to situations and still perform in adversity, too, as a standout player in that 2021/22 season that saw Ipswich majorly underperform to a mid-table finish, albeit they did improve when McKenna arrived in the second-half of the campaign.

Ipswich will be expected to once again challenge for promotion to the top-flight next season, and Burns, once back fit, is expected to be a key figure in that.

He will, of course, face no shortage of competition for a starting berth, with McKenna having a host of exciting wide options at his disposal ahead of next term.

The likes of Jack Clarke and Jaden Philogene, who both joined last season following stellar campaigns in the Championship with Sunderland and Hull City respectively, may well offer more star quality and pedigree, but Burns' adaptability and consistency should retain his presence in the thinking of McKenna for the foreseeable future.