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Chambers Not Worried About January Interest in Team-Mates - Ipswich Town News

Even if Town receive offers for players in the January transfer window club captain Luke Chambers is backing owner Marcus Evans to resist the temptation to cash in.

New signing Kane Vincent-Young has settled in so well since his £500,000 move from Colchester that Chambers fully expects there to be interest in him, while he has been so impressed with defensive partners Luke Woolfenden and James Wilson that he would not be surprised if they also attracted other clubs.

But the skipper said: "I’m not worrying about players leaving in January. As long as I’ve been here we’ve always sold our best players — rightly or wrongly. When you’re playing well and you’re at the top of the league other teams are always going to be looking to buy your players.

"But our main objective now is to get out of this division so I don’t think you could give Marcus enough money for any of our players. It’s not something we are going to be worrying about.”

Chambers believes Vincent-Young, whose first Town goal was enough to clinch all three points at Gillingham last week, is proving to be a tremendous bargain. "Of all the players to come in and catch the eye, Kane has taken it to another level.

"I think it was a fantastic piece of business, another decision that someone [former manager Paul Hurst] got wrong last summer by not signing him [when he was in trial], but to have him here now, it’s a fantastic signing at what we paid for him and I believe other clubs will be looking at him.

"He’s a great weapon to have, so good you could play him on the right side on his own. He’s even getting in at the back post and scoring goals, as he did at Gillingham, and he’s also creating chances, driving forward, and winning tackles and headers.

"I think he has just started to get his match fitness right because I felt it was lacking when he first arrived and made his debut at Bolton. I remember asking him after 70 minutes if he was alright. He’s a lot fitter now, he has also settled in really well and we’re enjoying having him here.”

"I think the new guys have brought a freshness with them and in Woolfy’s case he has brought a special air of confidence. He has his own special personality and he has done very, very well.

"Fans always like to see players coming through from the academy and taking their opportunity at first team level. The manager’s view is clearly that if you’re good enough you are old enough.”

Woolfenden actually started last season with a substitute appearance in the opening game of the season, a 2-2 home draw with Blackburn, but his next senior action came as a Swindon player after he completed a loan move to Wiltshire for the remainder of the campaign.

Chambers added: "That was the wrong decision in my opinion but it’s done him the world of good. He missed the negative season that we had here, did well down at Swindon and returned with a freshness.

"He knows that if he continues to do what he has been doing he is going to play and he has the backing of everyone.

"James Wilson also came in and took his opportunity on trial. Maybe he was looked at as a stop-gap but with the start he’s made there’s no reason for me that we shouldn’t be looking to keep him for the rest of the season.

"Five [successive league] clean sheets so far and if we make it six in a row on Saturday against Tranmere it’s a new club record — he’s been a major part of that and he’s a fantastic professional, as well as a great guy to have around the place.

"I’m enjoying playing alongside him. He’s a no-nonsense type of defender and I think that’s what we have needed for a while.

"We could go through the whole squad and talk about how the new players have made an impact. Everyone who steps into the team is playing well. There isn’t anyone who isn’t.”

Based on his experience last term, Woolfenden has gone on record as stating that in his opinion League Two football is a lot more physical than in League One and Chambers laughed: "That’s because I’m doing all Luke’s heading for him, while he’s covering round and looking good. No, really, he’s done great.

"It is physical and he played a lot of games at right-back last season at Swindon. We know he’s got the engine and we know he’s got the quality for that. It’s a physical league with as many games as we played in the Championship.

"It’s always difficult when we’re looking at the clean sheets because you don’t want to talk about it disrespectfully. We’re in League One and none of us want to be here but we’re putting all the effort we can into getting back to the Championship. Obviously, you want to achieve clean sheets at as high a level as possible but we can only do it in League One for now.

"We’ve played some good teams and we’ve played some poor teams, but the main thing is that we’re winning and drawing, not losing.”

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