Boss Kieran McKenna says Town have kept a close eye on midfielder Rekeem Harper’s progress during his spell with Saturday’s opponents Crewe Alexandra.

Harper, 22, who can't play against his parent club at the weekend, joined the Alex on deadline day in January and since then has made 11 starts and three sub appearances.

A signing from West Brom last summer, the former England U19 international started the season in the Town side before dropping out of the picture and didn’t feature under McKenna prior to his switch to the Railwaymen.

McKenna says the Blues have kept in contact with Harper, who is contracted to Town until the summer of 2024 with the club having an option for a further year.

“More so the staff take charge of that with the young loan players,” he said. “I’ve seen all of his games back and all of his clips, as have all the staff.

“We’ve been keeping a really close eye and [head of analysis] Charlie [Turnbull] and [assistant manager] Martyn [Pert] keep in contact with him on a regular basis to make sure that he’s doing OK.

“And he’s obviously picked up some minutes and some exposure, and probably got a better idea of the league and probably got a better idea of his own game and where he wants to keep developing.

“So hopefully that will have been beneficial for him and hopefully I’ll get a chance to speak to him a bit more personally on Saturday and next week as well.”

He added: “We’ll have a speak over the next week or so about his pathway and his progress and how I see it and I certainly want to get his thoughts on how he felt the games went at Crewe, and I’ll share my thoughts as well.

“I think that’s a conversation for me to have with Rakeem as it is with all of our players that are out on loan and make sure we’re planning the right next steps both for the player and the club.”

Photo: Matchday Images

Linkboy13 added 17:26 - Apr 21 Can't really see much future for him at Ipswich especially with McKenna raising the level of players next season. Seen him on EFL high lights on tv and hasn't really impressed.
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Chappers421 added 17:36 - Apr 21 Was at Hillsborough on Tuesday against Crewe with my Missus's folks who are Wednesday fans. Thought Harper was completely lost all game and didn't know what to do with himself. Not sure he really knows his best position nor has any standout attributes. As far as I'm concerned they can keep him as he is league 2 level at best.
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Suffolkboy added 17:55 - Apr 21 Whatever the outcome ,all ITFC players can be sure KM has been assiduous in researching their individual performance ,and will have a face to face confidential chat to discuss the future . This man already displays many of the traits which marked out Sir Bobby R . COYB
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NthQldITFC added 19:40 - Apr 21 That's a good point Suffolkboy. KM has the same precise and considered way of talking as Sir Bobby, and I think that indicates that he is probably as astute strategically as he is tactically.
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ringwoodblue added 14:08 - Apr 22 There was excitement when we signed him last summer as he was purported to be an exciting young player but if he is struggling at Crewe I don't think he has a future at Town.
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