Paul Cook delivers Kayden Jackson verdict after forward’s latest Ipswich Town display | OneFootball

Ipswich Town manager Paul Cook has lauded Kayden Jackson for his performance in the club’s EFL Trophy clash with Arsenal’s Under-21 side.

Cook opted to make a host of changes to his side for this fixture as the likes of Jackson, Joe Piggott and Tom Carroll were all given the opportunity to impress at Portman Road.

However, despite taking a two-goal lead in this fixture, Ipswich were pegged back by Arsenal’s youth outfit and eventually lost the clash on penalties.

Jackson opened the scoring for the Tractor Boys in the 31st minute as he fired past Gunners goalkeeper Ovie Ejeheri.

The forward then doubled Ipswich’s advantage just before the break.

An own-goal by Kane Vincent-Young gave Arsenal a route back into the tie and they eventually levelled proceedings in the 71st minute via a strike from Florian Balogun.

The Gunners booked their place in the next round of the competition at Ipswich’s expense by scoring four of their spot-kicks in the penalty shoot-out.

Having netted a brace in this fixture, Jackson will be hoping to retain his place in the Tractor Boys’ starting eleven for their FA Cup clash with Barrow this weekend.

Making reference to the forward’s display, Cook has admitted that he thought that Jackson was outstanding against Arsenal.

Speaking to TWTD after the game about the 27-year-old’s performance, Cook said: “Outstanding.

“I said to the players before the game, make sure you give me a selection headache for Saturday and certainly there were lads within the starting line-up tonight that 100 per cent have.

“And there are lads who certainly have just cemented probably what I already know.

“You can’t speak highly enough of Kayden.

“Kayden certainly is the big shining light from tonight, he should rightly get the plaudits.”

The Verdict

Having produced a promising performance against Arsenal’s Under-21 side, it will be intriguing to see whether Jackson is now able to push on in the coming weeks.

Limited to just two appearances in League One this season, the forward will need to produce another impressive display against Barrow this weekend if he is to have any chance of regularly challenging Macauley Bonne for a place in the club’s starting eleven at this level.

Bonne has become a key player for Ipswich since sealing a temporary move to Portman Road in the summer transfer window as he has scored 11 goals in the third-tier during the current campaign.

If Jackson is able to become a part of Cook’s plans for the future, he may force Bonne to step up his performance levels which could have a positive impact on the club’s fortunes in League One.