General manager of football operations Lee O’Neill believes it’s a feather in the academy’s cap that Premier League clubs are eyeing youngsters such as Elkan Baggott and Liam Gibbs and says that the impact of Brexit will see clubs from the top two divisions increasing their interest in young players in the lower leagues.

Centre-half Baggott, 18, recently signed his first professional contract, which runs to the summer of 2023 with the Blues having an option for a further season, having made his first and so far still only appearance for the senior side in the Papa John’s Trophy tie against Gillingham, and also travelled with the first team to Plymouth and was on the bench for the recent home game against Sunderland.

Everton were keen on the Indonesian U19 international, while West Ham and Leeds had also been linked.

O’Neill, who also remains the club’s academy manager, feels that that interest should be viewed as a compliment to the work being done at Playford Road.

He also says Brexit will have an impact with clubs no longer able to sign players aged below 18 from abroad.

“We have to look at it as a positive,” he told TWTD. “I think the whole Brexit thing, with clubs not being able to recruit from Europe as well as they did with the strategies they had in place before Brexit, has meant bigger clubs, whether they’re Premier League clubs or category one clubs, will start to look in and around our area at our players.

“Yes, it’s good for them that they are attracting attention but at the same time it’s really good for us that they want to be here and they all have been with us for a long time through our academy system.

“They can see a pathway through to the first team and that if they play well they keep their place, it’s as simple as that.

“I’m delighted that Elkan has put pen to paper and he’ll continue developing. He’s not the finished article yet, he’s got a lot of developing still to do, but he’s a great kid and his hunger and thirst for knowledge is great.

“He’s got some great people around him, Terry Butcher and Kieron [Dyer, who coach the U23s], [U18s manager] Adem [Atay], [academy head of coaching and player development] Bryan [Klug] and Gerard [Nash], all of them working with him to try and make him a better player.

“And then stepping into the senior side of things Gilly [first-team coach Matt Gill], [assistant manager] Stuart [Taylor] and the manager [Paul Lambert] have been working with him as well.”

Midfielder Gibbs, also 18, made his league debut in the home defeat to Charlton and has also made two starts and one sub appearance in the Papa John’s Trophy.

The Bury St Edmunds-born midfielder’s current contract is up in the summer with Premier League clubs having kept tabs on his progress for some months.

O’Neill confirmed that, as reported by TWTD last month, a new contract has been offered which he hopes he will sign.

“With Liam, I would like to see that situation,” he said. “The kid’s got to play and get some game time.

“He made his debut against Charlton and he wants to see what that next stage is going to look like for him, which I get and understand.

“We obviously would very much like him to sign but that’s going to be a decision for Liam and his family and his advisors on what he does next.

“But it’s the club’s intention that we would like him to stay and we see him as part of our plans, and that’s something we’ll have to review as the second half of the season goes through.”

Photos: Matchday Images

Blue_Meanie added 13:47 - Feb 11 I used to watch Look East and see Northampton Town on the sport bit and wonder what it would be like supporting them. Now I worry if we can even beat them. Sad times; we have fallen so far. The other thing is apart from us supporters nobody else seems to have noticed our constant steady decline under Evans; wonder why?
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NITFC added 13:47 - Feb 11 As an England fan, home and away (in normal times) this headline pleases me because it will force the big clubs to stop overlooking young English players in favour of foreigners like they did for so many years - damaging the England team along the way Just leave OUR young lads alone please!!!
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dyersdream added 13:52 - Feb 11 Pack ya bags o'neil and take lambert with you
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Upthetown1970 added 13:57 - Feb 11 We must keep hold of Gibbs. Imo hes the best player to come through the academy for a long time. Two footed goal scoring midfielder and is very creative. I fear as he hasn't signed his new deal yet he will be off in the summer. THIS LAD SHOULD BE PLAYING FOR THE FIRST TEAM NOW!!!. lets show these youngsters we actually do want them instead of playing loans and old professionals.

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MattinLondon added 14:26 - Feb 11 @NITFC An excellent comment regarding the national team being damaged by young English talent being overlooked, causing damage to the national team. Before all these foreign mercenaries came here the national team were world beaters...oh hang on, England were a lot worse than what they are now and you're talking rubbish.
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Ipswichbusiness added 14:33 - Feb 11 It's not just us. I understand that Liverpool recently signed a 16 year old Derby midfielder.
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BettyBlue added 14:33 - Feb 11 Where's "Big Club" Lambert the Coward?
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aas1010 added 15:11 - Feb 11 Bored off this tripe . Lambert out .🪓🪓wake up Evans smell the coffee and sack this idiot
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IpswichToon added 15:14 - Feb 11 I really didn't realise just how detached Evans is from the fans. The fact that Lambert still has a job shows that maybe it's Evans who is the more urgent figure to get out of the club. I do believe his intentions have been good, but christ, could he have done a worse job at this point?
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aas1010 added 15:21 - Feb 11 Does Marcus Evans website on his firm even mention Ipswich town ? I've looked and can't see owt about it .... Ipswichtoon I agree Evans hates us too that's why lambert is still here . Can't he just sell to some person who enjoys football 🪓🪓lambert out
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MonkeyAlan added 15:21 - Feb 11 Why are we in the lower leagues ONeill? It's down to you, Evans and Lambert that we are down here. More excuses from you fools at the top. If you keep theses idiots who are coaching our first team at the minute then no one will want our youngsters as they come through. Evans you muppet.
2

aas1010 added 15:26 - Feb 11 MonkeyAlan I agree👍
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suffolkblueeye added 16:00 - Feb 11 Bore off, but he doesn't understand Lambert and Taylor make your club crap...
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algarvefan added 16:03 - Feb 11 I f our young talent nationally can't make it in top football clubs in the UK it's because they are not good enough!!! Therefore lowering the standard in the Premier League overall by not signing the best players may give them more game time but it won't make them better players. Nationalistic Brexit clap trap to say otherwise, apart from one Word Cup win what has England ever done, even pre foreign players in the Premier league.

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casanovacrow added 16:06 - Feb 11 What's the point of our academy if we never give a run of games to them players, and other clubs just get loans from top two divisions the same as we do. We just end up with people like Kenlock, mid 20s and still not getting regular game time so won't develop. We need a manager with a pair of balls to play them and an owner looking past a quick fix.
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MattinLondon added 16:27 - Feb 11 @algarvefan Well said.
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TimmyH added 16:50 - Feb 11 In translation O'Neill - 'we're shifting out our younger talent, to go into my mates back pocket'.
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Bert added 17:39 - Feb 11 Brexit may or may not make things more difficult but the club should stop scoring its own goals first. I voted to remain, most voted to leave but did anyone vote to make it harder to travel and do business. I doubt it.
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cornishblu added 17:39 - Feb 11 Hahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 They play well...they,ll keep their place .....that tickled me ...for one minute I almost believed it

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Chris_Knights added 18:25 - Feb 11 Talented youngsters .... you know the ones that premier league and championships clubs are queuing up to buy ??? They were once a very talented group but not any more ... not with the crap management and poor coaching ... can anyone suggest downes, Simpson, Gibbs, dozzell, lankester etc have actually got better under this crap so called manager ? I feel so sorry for them all ... the world at their feet and then Lambert turns up !!!

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Ipswichbusiness added 18:38 - Feb 11 We seem to have become slightly sidetracked into a debate over whether or not this will help the England team. I would just remind everyone that if you are the England football manager then a Scot is as “foreign” as someone from South America. Therefore, we have had “foreigners” in our leagues ever since they started back in the nineteenth century, it's just that in former years they were Scottish, Welsh or Irish and now they come from all over the world.

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ITFCsince67 added 18:45 - Feb 11 No allowed to buy players U18 from abroad. Is that no against the law as in I'd like to work in this county?
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billlm added 21:11 - Feb 11 Well if the top two divisions are going to potentially take our best youths, I take it we have no ambition in going up,
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