West Ham arrival could spell the end for this Ipswich Town player: View | OneFootball

Ipswich Town will likely know that they are going to need to win their last three games to secure their place in next season’s Premier League.

This 2023/24 campaign has been tremendous for the Tractor Boys, as it mustn’t be forgotten that they were only promoted to the Championship last season.

But Kieran McKenna’s side have played some excellent football throughout the season, and that has helped them pick up the number of points they have.

Obviously, if the club achieves promotion, it will mean they will head into this summer operating in a different category than they may do if they remain in the Championship.

That can already be seen, with the club being heavily linked with a move for West Ham United defender Ben Johnson.

Johnson has several admirers from the Championship, and now the Tractor Boys are believed to have joined the list.

It was first revealed back in January that Leeds United held an interest in signing West Ham’s Ben Johnson, as Daniel Farke was keen on strengthening the full-back area. The club did do that, but it was with the addition of Connor Roberts.

But in that same month, Leeds were also joined by Southampton, as they were also keen on the player and were considering a move.

Now, according to the Daily Mirror (21/4 paper edition; page 71) they both remain interested in the player but now face fresh competition from Ipswich Town.

The report states that he is someone the Tractor Boys are keeping an eye on, and this is because Johnson’s contract with the Premier League side expires at the end of this season, meaning if a new deal isn’t agreed upon, he will leave on a free transfer.

Obviously, this is just talk at the minute, as no deal is advanced, but if Ipswich were to win the race for the full-back, it could spell the end for current Town player Axel Tuanzebe, who has been used in that area of the pitch a lot this season.

Ipswich Town decided to bring in Axel Tuanzebe in September, after the defender left Manchester United and was still a free agent after not being able to find a new club.

This obviously came about as Kieran McKenna worked with Tuanzebe during their time at Old Trafford, so the Ipswich boss knows what he can bring to his team.

The 26-year-old has played in the Championship before, as he had two separate loan spells at Aston Villa, one with him helping the club reach the play-offs.

Tuanzebe’s time at Old Trafford wasn’t as successful, as he did play over 30 games in the first team, but he never really got a consistent run of games under his belt.

So, when it was announced that he would be leaving Man United, it was unclear where he would go. But McKenna decided to take the chance and offer the defender an opportunity to play for them as they look for back-to-back promotions.

Tuanzebe hasn’t featured a lot for the club, but he has played an important role, playing 15 times so far in the Championship. That isn’t too bad, given he didn’t make his league debut for the club until the beginning of November.

Since then, the defender has started 13 of the 15 games he has featured in, and while Tuanzebe is originally a centre-back, it may come as a surprise to hear that he has predominantly played as a right-back, a position he did play in for Manchester United.

Tuanzebe has done reasonably well since joining the club, as he’s created one big chance for his teammates, averaged 0.2 key passes, and has grabbed one assist, which is better than his xAG of 0.58.

Furthermore, the 26-year-old has averaged 1.5 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, as well as an impressive 5.4 ball recoveries, and that has helped him be part of a defence that has kept three clean sheets while he has been on the pitch., as per Sofascore.com.

The defender hasn’t been outstanding this season, but he has always seemed to do his job when called upon, and that has made him a firm fan favourite. As seen in the tweet below, Tuanzebe has really excelled in the right-back and centre-back roles he has played in, and even though his contract ends this season, the club does have an option to extend it, and many will hope the club does extend it.

However, if the current talk is true and Ipswich does look to pursue a deal for Ben Johnson, then Tuanzebe could potentially find himself to be the one who misses out.

This is because, as mentioned, the player’s contract does expire at the end of this season, so the Tractor Boys could easily decide not to trigger the option in his contract. While Ipswich already have Harry Clarke for the right-back slot, you would presume that between Clarke and Tuanzebe, one of them may be allowed to leave to make room for someone like Johnson to come in.

This may be seen as an upgrade from the club and manager, but it seems Tuanzebe has done really well in the limited games he has had, and some of the fans may prefer the club to retain the ex-Man United man rather than buy Johnson. But if the West Ham player does arrive, it could be the end for Tuanzebe at Portman Road.