McKenna: Young Will Bring Experience, Competitiveness and Edge Friday, 25th Jul 2025 23:12 Blues boss Kieran McKenna says new signing Ashley Young can give the club different things in different areas, among them his experience, competitiveness and his edge. Young joined Town on Wednesday on a free transfer having left Everton at the end of last season. The 40-year-old wasn’t involved this evening as he remained in Suffolk to train alongside Omari Hutchinson, who returned to pre-season late having been away with the England U21s at the Euros until only a few weeks ago. “He and Omari have worked together over the last couple of days, both coming back in late, so they’ve had two days’ training, which will be good,” McKenna explained. “We’ll train tomorrow with the group after a late return and we’ll have a chat with Ashley tomorrow and make a plan together in terms of his readiness and I’m sure it won’t be too long before we can get him in a match shirt.” Asked what he can bring to the club, the Town manager added: “He can bring us different things at different levels. Of course, he has had incredible success and experience in the game. “He’s won titles in different countries, an incredible Premier League career, longevity. And you don’t get that without having some special qualities, which I think for him are his competitiveness and the edge that he has, and he’ll bring that to the group. “He’s still playing well, he played well last year for Everton, played well against us, played well in all the Premier League games he was involved in last year, so he can certainly still have a big part to play in the team. “And I think around the building it’s clear we’ve lost an awful lot of experience from the group this year, that’s clear, so being able to bring somebody in of his stature and his experience in the game, I think he’ll have a really positive impact on others around the training ground. Hopefully a signing that will work well for us on different levels.” McKenna confirmed, as expected, that Young will primarily be viewed as a right-back. “Ashley can play lots of different roles,” he added. "I think his most common role last season and this season will be as a right-back, but he’s a really versatile, intelligent player who has played in almost every role on the pitch.” And he says the Stevenage-born veteran will have no coaching responsibilities, despite being at such an advanced stage of his career. “He’s not interested at the moment,” the Blues boss continued. “Maybe we can suck him in by the end of the year, we’ve managed to convert a few. But no, I think his big focus is on playing and helping the team achieve the goals this year and that’s where we need him.” Regarding other additions, McKenna says it’s obvious central midfield is an area where the club is looking to strengthen following the departures of loanees Jens Cajuste and Kalvin Phillips, and skipper Sam Morsy, TWTD having revealed that Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney is a target earlier this month. “I think that’s clear, it’s an area where we’ve lost four of the five midfielders from last year for different reasons,” he said. “So, it’s an area we certainly want to add to and hopefully in the not too different future. But, of course, it always has to be the right player.”
Photo: ITFC Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 298 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
