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McKenna: I Expect Movement In and Out But Nothing's Imminent - Ipswich Town News

Town boss Kieran McKenna says he still expects some movement both in and out before the transfer window closes on September 1st but with no new addition close.

McKenna has previously said that winger Kyle Edwards can move either permanently or on loan, while he is continuing to weigh-up whether to send centre-half Elkan Baggott and midfielder Cameron Humphreys out on loan.

Quizzed on whether any moves out are imminent, McKenna said: "Nothing closer. It is going to take a good and suitable offer for the player and for the club for any of those exits to happen. And there hasn’t been anything like that so far.”

Might Baggott’s exit depend on another central defender coming in? "We have our three most natural centre-halves from last season [Luke Woolfenden, Cameron Burgess and George Edmundson] all fit.

"Luke and Cameron are playing very well and George is now feeling much better and training well.

"We have Dominic [Ball] who can play in that position as well. Of course, Elkan gives us good cover and an option in that position at the moment.

"As I’ve said, he is improving game by game. One area in any decisions we’ll make around a young player’s future will be the strength of the squad at the moment.

"But in the situation at the moment, that’s certainly not the only criteria around whether Elkan stays with the squad this season. It’s a number of different factors.”

Town have signed four players this summer, midfielder Jack Taylor, keeper Cieran Slicker, striker George Hirst and loan forward Omari Hutchinson.

Does the Blues’ existing strength in depth mean the club can be more selective when looking for further additions?
 
"I think that was the case whether we had started the season well or not,” McKenna reflected. "We have 24 outfielders training this week and they are all training really well and know their jobs really well. I would trust any of them to play this weekend.

"In that way, we are in a better position than maybe teams who have turned over a lot of their squad and have had to add players to get the depth of their group to where they want it to be for a season. We are already in that position.

"That doesn’t change the fact that to be really competitive in this league, then we feel like we want to, and need to, add quality to this group.

"But again it has to be the right players at the right price that will fit into the group and improve what we have - and that pool isn’t so big.

"But we are working hard, we are continuing to have conversations and we are continuing, I think, to conduct ourselves with honesty and integrity in those conversations.

"That will stand us in good stead in the long term and we hope over the next couple of weeks we can add to the group.

"But at the same time, we are in a position where we have a strong squad who are fighting really hard for the club. I trust them to go out on the pitch every weekend to give their best and that’s certainly goes a long way as well.”

Anything near to being done? "There is nothing very close. There are a few weeks left in the window and as much as you want things done early, it’s not always the case.

"I’d still expect there to be some movement, both ways, over the next couple of weeks, but we aren’t always in control of when that is.

"For now, the absolute priority is continuing to work really hard with the very good and competitive group of players that we have here. They are fighting each day and each week for a shirt and I will back them boys to continue to do so.”

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