McKenna: Szmodics a Fantastic Fit
Friday, 16th Aug 2024 16:21 by Kallum Brisset

Town manager Kieran McKenna says new signing Sammie Szmodics is a ‘fantastic fit’ for the football club following his arrival from Blackburn Rovers earlier today.

Szmodics, last season’s Championship top goalscorer with 27 league goals, signed from Rovers for an initial £9 million plus add-ons after an agreement was finally reached after weeks of negotiations.

Like many of the Blues squad, the 28-year-old will experience Premier League football for the first time in his career having climbed from League Two to the Championship, making 313 EFL appearances.

McKenna says Szmodics’s desire to improve and his attitude, which has been widely praised in recent days during the transfer speculation, is one of the key factors for his arrival as well as his excellent form on the pitch last season.

“I think he's impressed everybody,” McKenna said. “Of course, last season was a standout in terms of his goalscoring record, there's no doubt about that, especially in a team that was in the bottom half of the league.

“But I think probably more so for me is the way he's improved his game year-by-year, the way he's continued to develop himself. He's a learner, he's a worker, he's looking to improve all the time and he's done that season-by-season.

“He's come up from League Two and he's climbed his way through the leagues and I think he's more than deserved his opportunity now in the Premier League.

“That really matches with our squad, first of all, there's so many players in the same position that have worked for years and years to get to the level they are at now and for us as a football club to have worked so hard to be where we are now.

“I think from a cultural point of view he's a fantastic fit. He has a history with the club, he has lots of family who support the club, he's grown up nearby and he's a very good player. So in all aspects we're happy to have him here.”

Colchester-born Szmodics was registered before the midday deadline for him to be involved in Town’s Premier League opener against Liverpool at Portman Road tomorrow.

McKenna confirmed the Republic of Ireland international will play a part against the Reds, but hinted it may be from the substitutes rather than the start.

He said: “We think he'll be in the squad so that's a good addition. But if I'm honest, it will be a really good day for Sammie, it will be a proud moment and it will be great to have him with us.

“Hopefully he'll help us get a positive outcome from the game but I think tomorrow is primarily about the group that have been here over the last season or two, it's about the group who have been here since the start of pre-season.

“We know those are the boys who are going to have the biggest part to play tomorrow, those are the boys who deserve to go out on that pitch tomorrow feeling ten foot tall, feeling the excitement and the overwhelming support that I'm sure they'll have from the crowd.

“We're going to have so many people making their Premier League debut tomorrow, that's a really proud moment for them, that's a really proud moment for me as a manager to be there and to help them with that.

“We're going to have maybe eight to 12 players over the course of the five substitutes as well who make a Premier League debut tomorrow, so that's a special day.

“Sammie will be in that squad, maybe he'll be one of those who makes a Premier League debut, so it will be a special day for him but it will be a special day for all the players here.”

Photo: ITFC/Matchday Images

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