McKenna: Enciso Talented and Hungry Thursday, 23rd Jan 2025 17:11 Blues boss Kieran McKenna says talented forward Julio Enciso is really hungry to make an impact at Town in the second half of the season having joined on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion. The Paraguay international celebrated his 21st birthday by signing on at Portman Road for the rest of the season this morning with the Blues understood to be picking up his full wage. “I think it's clear to those who have seen him play he's a very talented young player,” McKenna said when asked what Enciso can bring to his team. “He’s had some great experiences at a young age, broke into men's football very early in Paraguay, became an international very early in Paraguay, came to England very early in his years and had a really good impact at Brighton. “He had one injury last year that was a setback and that will happen in your career at some point. “He’s had some good games this year but not played as many minutes as he had the previous year and a great opportunity for us to bring in a very, very talented player to the football club, a player that we like. “With the attributes he has, I think he can help the team. A good opportunity for him to get another experience, a completely different experience in his young career. So hopefully, it will be a good move for both parties and will be a good boost for us.” Enciso, who is contracted to Albion until the summer of 2026, has said that his conversations with McKenna were key to him making the move, as TWTD previously reported, the Blues having shown interest in previous windows. “We spoke about the club, and of course, he's been involved in both games against us this year, so he saw us down at their stadium and, of course, was at our stadium a couple of weeks ago as well,” McKenna said when asked about those discussions. “I usually speak about similar things with players coming in on loan. If you go out on loan, it's very often to get game time and to get a chance to play more minutes than you are, and that's very important for him and hopefully he will get a good chance to do that. “But also to come on loan in January and to have a successful loan it’s really important how quickly you can buy into the team goals, into the team culture, into the team system and to all the things at the club that you're joining. “So that will take time. It takes time with any signings that come in January, but that's for us to work on over the next few weeks. “We spoke about his role in the team and in the squad, how we will try to get the best out of his qualities, what we need from him in his role, and all those conversations. So, he's a really hungry young player and was really keen to come, which is always a positive sign. “He's really hungry to do well for himself, and he's really hungry to come here and have a big impact at the club, which will hopefully be positive for us.” According to reports in Italy and Paraguay, Valencia, Atalanta and Borussia Dortmund all showed interest in taking Enciso on loan, while it’s claimed Manchester United made an approach to Brighton after the deal had been done with the Blues, eyeing the Caaguazu-born attacker as a potential replacement for Alejandro Garnacho, who is expected to depart Old Trafford. “I don't know, for one, the truth in that,” McKenna said when quizzed on those reports. “It wouldn't interest me too much either way. “As I just said, I think any player who is available in January of Julio's qualities is going to be of interest to a lot of clubs. We felt that this was a good fit for him but for many, many different reasons. “Thankfully, the player felt that this was a good fit for him and he was keen to come and join us. And importantly, Brighton felt it was a good fit for him, and this would be a good step for him in his career. “So, all parties were in agreement, and we were able to agree to bring him here, and we're all happy with that.” Regarding his role, McKenna added: “I think he's, in essence, a number 10 behind the frontman. He can play off the wide areas coming into the number 10 on both sides. “He's played as a false nine, dropping down into the 10 spaces, but I think he's a player who thrives from being in the half-spaces and in between the lines where you can turn and dribble and shoot and play through passes. So, those are the areas of the pitch that we need to try and get him.” Enciso was the second forward added to the squad with McKenna keen to replicate the rotation and firepower available from the bench which was such a big part of the Blues’ back-to-back promotions, his options having been more limited in the season up to now. “That's certainly the idea, to be as strong as we can in those positions,” the Northern Irishman said. “And there's no doubt that those two players add to our qualities either in wing positions or in positions behind the striker. “There's no doubt that they add to the quality and depth of that department and as we've seen, so many of our games have been tight. “In some games, we've got a result tight, but we've also lost tight games. And very often, the Brighton game, for example not that long ago, where the games are really, really evenly balanced, the opposition bring on a fully fresh frontline of top-class players and it becomes really, really difficult. “I think the more depth and quality that we can have in those positions in modern football in the Premier League is absolutely vital. And it will give us a better chance to compete.” Enciso has scored five goals in 22 starts for the Seagulls - 14 in the Premier League - and 33 sub appearances. The most notable was a superb strike against Manchester City in May 2023 which sealed Brighton’s place in the Europa League and was selected as both the Match of the Day and Premier League Goal of the Season for the 2022/23 campaign, and was also nominated for the FIFA Puskas Award. However, having made such an impact in his first season in England, he failed to score at all last season - having been out for six months with a meniscus tear - with his only goal this term in the 4-0 FA Cup victory at Norwich earlier this month. “He was injured for a good chunk of that,” McKenna said regarding the last campaign. “Obviously, Julio has shown that he can score spectacular goals, which is fantastic, and if he can manage to do one of those at Portman Road, I'm sure everyone will be happy. “For all forward players, there's always work to be done on adding to the repertoire of different types of goals and different types of assists and how they can be as effective as possible. He's got a lot of talent, and I'm looking forward to working with him.” Is getting the goals scored tally up the main thing behind the move? “It's one of the main things. There are different ways to win a football match, but I think we need to find ways to score more goals in the next games than we have done because there are plenty of games left. “But also you can win games 1-0 as well. So there are different ways to win and different ways to compete and we'll try to do it in the best way possible. “But adding more goals and more goalscoring and goal-making qualities to the squad in January was a big priority, as is working hard with the players here who are adjusting to the level and improving and trying to help them be more effective individually and us be more effective as a team.” Enciso, who has been capped 23 times by Paraguay, scoring twice, could make his debut at Anfield on Saturday. “He's available,” McKenna said. “He hasn't trained very much for this, but he's with the group this morning, so he's available Saturday.” Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler gave his reasons for allowing Enciso out on loan: “Julio wants to play regularly and that is not something we can guarantee with so many options in our attacking positions,” Hurzeler added. “Ipswich have offered Julio the possibility of more regular game time and the move is the right one for all concerned. We will keep a close eye on his progress as the season continues and we wish him well for his time with Ipswich.”
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