Ipswich Town struck gold with Middlesbrough transfer - Tractor Boys are still reaping the rewards | OneFootball

Ipswich were a League One club when they brought in a midfielder from Middlesbrough in 2021 who'd captain them all the way back to the Premier League.

Ipswich Town were a League One club when they signed a midfielder from Middlesbrough who'd stay with the club all the way back to the Premier League.

By the summer of 2021, Ipswich were in desperate need of a refresh. They'd been relegated from the Championship two years earlier and their first shot at getting back there had ended with an 11th-place finish to a season truncated by the pandemic, while their second had only seen a nominal improvement, ending with them ninth.

But the club was at least under new ownership. An American investment group had finally wrested control of the Tractor Boys from Marcus Evans the previous April and a rebuilding job was afoot.

Sam Morsy had the broad EFL experience that Ipswich Town needed

By the time Sam Morsy arrived at Ipswich, that job was under way. Signed from Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee, he was their 19th signing of the summer 2021 transfer window, a sign that changes were coming to Portman Road.

Morsy had the broad experience that Ipswich needed. He hit the sweet spot of being under 30 years old, while having a huge amount of experience, having made his professional debut for Port Vale in February 2010 in a League match against Lincoln City.

He'd gone on to play for four other clubs over the intervening eleven years, racking up over 350 appearances across all three divisions of the EFL, before ending up Middlesbrough in 2020.

Figures from Soccerbase

Paul Cook's replacement took time to turn the Tractor Boys around

But there was no quick fix to Ipswich's problems. Morsy had said at the time of his departure that working with Paul Cook, for whom he'd played at Wigan, was the deciding factor in his move, but Cook was sacked on the 4th December with the team 11th in League One. They finished the season in ninth, still five points from a play-off place. The following season they finished 11th.

But Cook's replacement did start to turn things around. Kieran McKenna had arrived twelve days after his dismissal from a coaching position at Manchester United.

Morsy was already the club captain by this point, having been appointed to that position by Cook in October 2021, and he was a crucial cog in what happened next. Over the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, Ipswich stormed to two successive promotions, racing to the Premier League with him at the heart of their midfield.

Over those two seasons, Ipswich finished as runners-up to Plymouth Argyle in League One and then Leicester City, the following season, in the Championship. He made 44 appearances in the League One promotion campaign, and 42 in the Championship, missing a combined six games of the 92. He also contributed nine goals in each campaign - four goals and five assists in League One, then three goals and six assists in the Championship.

Relegation has followed from the Premier League, but they made a better fist of trying to stay up than the two promoted teams and won't finish the 2024/25 season at the bottom of that pile.

Sam Morsy has been the Ipswich captain across three divisions, and his experience of having been a captain brought Kieran McKenna considerable benefits. Having signed a contract extension with the club in July 2024, he'll be with the club for at least another year.

Just enough time to find out whether the Tractor Boys can rumble back to the Premier League again, next season.