x

Foley Was Town Man at Levante - Ipswich Town News

Specialist skills coach Steve Foley was Town's man at Sunday's La Liga derby between Levante and Valencia. TWTD revealed over the weekend that Spanish newspapers were reporting the Blues' presence at the game, which away side Valencia won 5-1, with striker Riga the likely subject of their interest.

Foley has an apartment in the Spanish city and has made three trips to eye Valencia's training methods over the last year. The former Colchester and Norwich coach says he was assessing possible summer targets: "There are a few clubs struggling financially in Spain, and there might be good players available.

"It was a general search, although we have the departure of central defender Jason De Vos to address.

"The manager has to decide on his goalkeeping options, and every club would be given a boost by having a regular 20-goal a season striker on their books. The spine of any team is important to gaining success.”

Levante are in particular financial strife and have been unable to pay their players for several months. Most of the squad are expected to leave the already-relegated side over the summer. Valencia are also in a less than comfortable position, but Town are less likely to be in a position to move for their first teamers.

Foley says that as well as a central defender and goalkeeper, a striker is another Town summer priority: "We have three players who scored 12 and 13 goals each, which was great, but a 20-goal man wins you a few extra matches.”

Levante frontman Rahamat Mustapha, known in Spain as Riga, was linked with the Blues in January and played 83 minutes of yesterday's game.

Born in Accra, Ghana, 26-year-old Riga grew up in Holland and was with Vitesse Arnhem, RBC Roosendaal and Sparta Rotterdam before joining the La Liga table-proppers in 2005.

Prior to his switch to Spain, the Dutch press linked the former Holland U20 international with Town and a number of other Championship sides.

What to read next:

Tuanzebe in DR Congo Squad
Town defender Axel Tuanzebe has been named in the DR Congo squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Senegal and Togo next month.
McKenna Speculation Continues
Speculation regarding Blues boss Kieran McKenna’s future continues with Brighton, Manchester United and Chelsea all reportedly showing interest in the Town manager.
[Podcast] Blue Monday - New Podcast Now Online
A new podcast from the Blue Monday team is now available.
Leigh and Edwards Win Second League One Promotion
Former Town pair Greg Leigh and Kyle Edwards won promotion from League One for the second season running after their current club Oxford United defeated Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in the play-off final at Wembley this afternoon.
McKenna Bookies' Favourite For Brighton Job
Confirmation from Brighton and Hove Albion that manager Roberto De Zerbi will be leaving at the end of the season has renewed speculation linking Kieran McKenna with the Seagulls and the Blues boss has emerged as the bookmakers’ early favourite for the job.
Youngster Nkansa-Dwamena Off to US
Blues U21s right-back Nick Nkansa-Dwamena is to start a college football scholarship at the University of Tulsa this summer.
New Robson Play at Eastern Angles
Eastern Angles is staging a reading of a new play, Bobby Robson Saved My Life, as part of its Play, Pizza & Pints platform on Wednesday 29th May at the Sir John Mills Theatre.
Ashton: Sheeran a Really Special Man
Town CEO Mark Ashton says club sponsor Ed Sheeran is a “really special man”, who “passionately cares about his local football club”.
Austria Trip and Fortuna at Portman Road in Pre-Season
Town will face sister club Fortuna Düsseldorf in a pre-season friendly on Saturday 27th July (KO 3pm) and as last year will hold a training camp in Austria ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Ashton: Recruitment Work Already Under Way
Town CEO Mark Ashton says he and manager Kieran McKenna have already begun work on recruiting for the Blues’ return to the Premier League.