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McKenna: Recruitment Work Leaves Us in a Very, Very Strong Position Going Into Next Season - Ipswich Town News

Blues manager Kieran McKenna believes Town’s recruitment leaves the club in a “very, very strong position” going into next season.

With the Blues almost certainly going down to the Championship, star striker Liam Delap looks certain to move on with Chelsea and Manchester United the leading contenders to trigger his £30 million relegation release clause.

Centre-half Cameron Burgess is understood to be interesting La Liga side Girona, while Axel Tuanzebe, like the Australian international, is out of contract in the summer, although with the Blues having spoken to them both regarding new terms.

While there may be interest in other members of the squad, Town seem likely to keep hold of most of those currently at Portman Road with McKenna feeling the business which has been done since promotion has put the club in a positive situation whichever division they’re in next season.

"I think coming up, the position we were in in the summer, one of our priorities had to be investing in the squad, but that we were protected for the future,” he said.

"People can talk about our net spend [more than £130 million over the season] being quite high, but our net spend in the decade before that is probably from a Premier League perspective something amounting to zero.

"Our money in the summer was spent on a mixture of young, talented players where you pay a premium but where you know there’s potentially a very high return in terms of developing those assets and players who have done well in the Championship.

"In essence, I think the club has been really driven and ambitious in the summer but has protected the long-term future of the club because as a newly promoted team the division it is hard and for a newly promoted team on our journey it was always going to be very hard, so it was very important not to do anything reckless or anything naive which could leave the club in a difficult position in the next few years.

"On the contrary, I think the work that’s been done leaves the club in a very, very strong position going into next season, irrespective of what division we’re in.”

Meanwhile, links with Sheffield United striker Ryan One are understood to have little to them, the 18-year-old previously having been mentioned in connection with Town in January, while Blades manager Chris Wilder says the Scotland U21 international is very much in his plans.

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