Boss Mick McCarthy believes recent signing Alex Henshall has huge potential and that he expects him to be pushing to get into the first team during the season ahead. On Friday, the 20-year-old put pen to paper on a two-year deal with an option for a further season following his release by Manchester City.

The former England U16 and U17 international spent the last couple of months of 2013/14 on loan with the Blues and made it onto the bench on a number of occasions but without making his debut.

“Manchester City signed him [from Swindon] as a young lad who was full of potential,” McCarthy said. “But signing a young lad at Manchester City full of potential and then him having to get through that array of superstars that they’ve got to get into the first team is incredibly difficult, probably impossible for some of them.

“Whether he’ll ever attain that level of Man City, I don’t know, but he’s got huge promise and now he’s at a club where he’s not going to be able to hide in that U21 team and never get in. I expect him to be pushing to get in the first team.

“We’ll wait and see if he’s got the aptitude, the attitude and the desire to do it, because he’s got an opportunity to play first-team football here, albeit in the Championship. It’s certainly better than the U21s in the Premier League.”

He added: “He’s got exceptional pace, a wand of a left foot, he puts crosses in, he’s a clever footballer and it’s shaking those shackles off. You can sometimes be in an environment where you’re never going to play, you can just be nice and safe.

“But now he’s going to be pressurised to see whether he can play in the first team. It’s a different game altogether playing in the Championship to just being in the U21s at a Premier League club.”

Meanwhile, McCarthy has reiterated his expectation that loan signings from Premier League clubs are more likely to become available later in the summer: “It is a filtering down effect, there will be a lot of players at the World Cup who will come back and have a holiday.

“There’ll be Premier League teams who will take all their players away on pre-season and use some of their U21s for the friendlies until the top players come back.

“Then we may find that there is a filtering down of some players for loan deals. I’ll end up with a squad of probably 22 players, which is cool, I’m happy with that.”

Photo: Action Images

battyblue added 07:37 - Jul 3 If he is as good as you say Mick put him in the team straight away because that was what we were lacking last season i would also like to see Jack Marriott get first team action sooner rather than later if you are good enough you are old enough show some faith.
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muccletonjoe added 07:38 - Jul 3 Potential is a term which applies to many players at the club , notably , Marriott , Mings and Hewitt let's hope they can all push on in the coming season along with Henshall and we really will have a squad to envy.
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Juanforthemoney added 07:47 - Jul 3 I hope he does fulfill his true potential and not become another Lee Martin!
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Ipswich121 added 07:56 - Jul 3 ^^^Lee Martin couldn't cross, he certainly didn't have "a wand of a left foot"
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JoeDickerson420 added 08:04 - Jul 3 Have faith in the lad, he will come through like a boss this season. if only darren currie was a few years younger ;/
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Cambonbleu added 08:17 - Jul 3 I honestly don't mind us taking a chance on a player like this, he has good pedigree and as MM says it's now up to him to make a name for himself and get himself in the team. I hope he turns out to be a real player for us and fulfills his potential
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commuterblue added 08:27 - Jul 3 does MM ever sign players like Lee Martin?
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whosroundisitanyway added 08:34 - Jul 3 He even rhymes with it!!
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ArnieMsBigToe added 08:56 - Jul 3 Ipswich121: I must stick up for Lee Martin. You are right. He didn't have a wand of a left foot. He had two left feet and neither of them were wands!! I would also say that that Lee Martin was a lot of things, but one thing he wasn't was clever!!
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PremierBlue added 10:03 - Jul 3 lads are looking good in Adidas!
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Lightningboy added 10:04 - Jul 3 The thing is sometimes you have to show a little more faith in the kids with potential..if you don't give them a fair run in the team then you'll never know whether they're good enough or not. Hopefully we'll see a lot of Henshall,Hewitt,Marriott,Mings & Stewart this season....Mick's babes.
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whosroundisitanyway added 10:07 - Jul 3 ArnieM If that's sticking up for him I would'nt like to see you slagging him off!!
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Jimmys_Law added 10:24 - Jul 3 And don't forget Veseli ! I hope he can come good for us too. Although I'd rather see Hewitt at Right Back if he's good enough now
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captainfantastic added 11:03 - Jul 3 remember mm saying this about Doherty last summer...
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Michael11 added 11:09 - Jul 3 It's refreshing to see us signing young players with energy and a point to prove. A major problem this last 4 or 5 seasons has been how old and slow the majority of our squad has been. Hopefully this year now we have more youthful players, we'll play a quicker, attacking brand of football.
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Popeye added 11:12 - Jul 3 Despite recent signings, squad still doesn't look good enough for top six finish. Marriott unproven at this level, Anderson, Tabb and Wordsworth inconsistent, no proper right back with Veseli or Hewitt not quite up to it in MM eyes and no box to box midfielder either. When DIdsy got injured so went the chances of promotion, SEB was unfit, Taylor was well Taylor, brilliant one minute, pub team player the next. OK maybe a massive overhaul isn't required but with only 22 players, squad lacks depth/quality especially from those coming off the bench.

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arc added 11:37 - Jul 3 Hunt, Stewart, Henshall. Well, good, that's Left Wing sorted then... ;-)
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tractorintheloft added 13:19 - Jul 3 There's no comparison with Lee Martin's move to Town. Whilst they both were hired for there potential Lee Martin cost £1.5m and was on a Premeirship wage. This potential is a lot more sensible. May not come off but it won't break the bank. MM & TC have proven record in this area but it's also down to the player so will not allways work out. The description given by MM sounds good though :-) Popeye - We're very much work in progress and 3 year deal for MM & TC will remove the short-term approach taken by Keane & Jewell (hopefully). Agree that overhaul not the way forward as the last time that happened we went backwards at great speed. Remember the Burley 5 year plan - got to be the way forward for us now.

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DurhamTownFan added 13:28 - Jul 3 Still enjoying the adidas stash! Anyone know when the club website will have them on sale? Desperate to get some new training gear!
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TimmyH added 17:18 - Jul 3 So that means he'll be out on loan come September...probably to a league 1 club.
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