Town winger Kasey McAteer has reflected on his summer move to Portman Road from fellow Championship promotion hopefuls Leicester City.

McAteer, who had come through the academy and been at the club since the age of eight, left the Foxes in August and made the switch to Suffolk for an initial £11.5 million.

Leicester were promoted to and relegated from the Premier League alongside the Blues in the last two seasons, and are aiming for an immediate return to the top flight this campaign.

But McAteer opted to switch allegiances earlier this year, and the 23-year-old claimed he was sold by the ‘attractive project’ ongoing at Town under boss Kieran McKenna.

“It was a big step,” he said. “It’s a long time being at one place, you get very familiar with your surroundings and the people in the area.

“At the same time, football changes and things change. I’ve come down here to Ipswich and I felt like at the time it’s a good move for myself. It’s an aspiring club, a good squad, good staff and an attractive project so I don’t regret my decision in coming here.

“I’ve had to try and get my feet on the floor and settle in quick because you have to, but at the same time I’ve really enjoyed doing that and this is a place I want to be. I’m really happy to be here.

“I won’t be the first and I won’t be the last player that’s come through an academy and been there basically all my life and then moved on, it’s football.

“You take all the emotion out of the move, it’s a really good move for myself. A club that’s obviously aspiring to be back in the Premier League, a good manager, good staff and an exciting project with a new training ground being built as well. It’s nothing that I’d change in that respect.”

The move appeared to come around quite quickly, with the deal completed just a few days on from McAteer featuring for Leicester in their away loss at Preston North End.

Coincidentally, the forward’s first match for the Blues also came at Deepdale, and also ended in defeat.

“I should have stayed up there,” he joked. “It came around quickly when it started to progress. It was in-house for a bit and it was spoken about and then when it did find its way to the media, it moved quite quickly.

“There’s nothing I would change, it was an exciting period for me and my family and I'm really happy to be here. I want to give my all to this club.”

McAteer has tasted Premier League football with the Foxes, and made no secret of the fact that he is striving to get back to that level at the earliest opportunity.

Last season was his first chance of playing regularly as a first-team player in the Leicester squad, an experience he says was an enjoyable challenge.

The Republic of Ireland international said: “Obviously it was tough, the three teams that went up the year before came back down so it’s a hard league, there’s no denying that it’s the hardest league in the world.

“I felt like I wanted to play a bit more than I did, I seemed to only get in on a consistent basis at the back end of the season. When you’re in a Premier League squad, you’ve got really good quality in the team, you’ve got players in front of you and around you that are all pushing for that starting XI spot so you can’t be too disheartened.

“To play in the Premier League is what every guy around the country strives to be in and we just want to be there this time in May, so we’re working day in, day out to get there.”

McAteer’s only top-flight goal came against Town in the meeting at the King Power Stadium in May, both teams having already had their relegation back to the Championship confirmed, while he also found the net at one of the country’s most famous stadiums during the previous campaign.

Asked for his Premier League highlight, he said: “I don’t want to say it but that one goal that I’ve scored in it! That goal [vs Liverpool] was in the Carabao Cup to be fair, so not in the Premier League. But that speaks for itself, it’s not every day you can play football and say you’ve scored at Anfield, so that was a really big moment for myself. Hopefully more Premier League goals coming in the future.

“The gaffer might have said something at the start when I first signed, but since then he’s not really touched on it. You have your moment in the time, and now that’s gone, you move on and it’s quickly moved on from.

“Hopefully in the future, I can get many more goals in the Premier League, that’s my ultimate dream and ultimate goal. I’ll be working hard to do that as long as everyone else will be here as well.”

Many players in the Blues squad, such as Sammie Szmodics, Wes Burns and Jack Taylor, have had journeys through the lower leagues of English football to get to where they are today.

Despite being signed for a significant fee from a league rival, McAteer is no exception, citing his time on loan in League Two as the foundation for his development.

“To highlight one, I’ll say Wimbledon was the one that really kicked me on to push into Leicester City’s first team,” he said. “I went out there in 2023 and played 18 games, then I came back to Leicester and that’s when I really started in the first team.

“It just shows you that going out and playing football week in, week out, you only get better playing football every week. They definitely shaped me, and that transition into Championship football was tough but something that I took under my belt.

“I feel like even this time around in the Championship compared to last time it’s getting harder, especially when you’re a team that’s come down from the Premier League. I experienced it at Leicester, every team wants to beat you even more because you’ve just come down from the Premier League.

“It’s not easy, they give that little bit more every game and you’re the team to beat every week. We have found it tough and I’m sure the other clubs in the league will find it tough too, but we believe in ourselves and we believe in our squad. Hopefully we will be where we want to be in May.”

Photo: TWTD

Bazza8564 added 16:19 - Nov 5 Like all the new young players, Kasey will find it takes a while to hit his stride. Jaden and Jack are two examples of players who have taken a while to show their best, but are now doing really well. Kieran rates Kasey, and we have already seen glimpses of some good stuff. The fans on here aren't renowned for their patience at times, but we must give the guy a bit of time, he will do well here if we stick with him

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cressi added 16:37 - Nov 5 Trouble is he has a young player light years ahead of him technically and Burns to hopefully come back so going to be tough for him.
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Bazza8564 added 17:32 - Nov 5 As much as I would love to see Wes playing again, hes at the older age range now and having spent £30m plus on Sindre and Kasey, i just don'tsee it Cressi to be honest
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Bazza8564 added 17:32 - Nov 5 As much as I would love to see Wes playing again, hes at the older age range now and having spent £30m plus on Sindre and Kasey, i just don'tsee it Cressi to be honest
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cressi added 19:47 - Nov 5 Depends on how he recovers from his injury Bazza we can't play players just on transfer fees or we would be exactly what wolfie said we were in a matter of words.
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Rimsy added 20:16 - Nov 5 McAteer is an excellent squad player. May not command a regular starting 'place but a good option when needed.
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cressi added 20:41 - Nov 5 Rimsy he may come good but I have not seen anything yet though early days
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warktheline added 21:08 - Nov 5 Get on with it on the pitch
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ArnieM added 21:27 - Nov 5 For the life of me I dont understand why Ashton would fork out £14M for a bench warmer..... Leicester fans are still laughing at us for this, and what's he done since hes been here?
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bobble added 02:38 - Nov 6 Expensive ...
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Ipswich_Sniffer added 06:33 - Nov 6 Just a slow Kayden Jackson. There is something very 'off' about his transfer.
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PinstripeBlue added 07:03 - Nov 6 We need players that turn up as soon as we buy them. Giving time to get better is sadly not a luxury we can afford in modern day footy.
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Marcus added 08:58 - Nov 6 There is a lot less patience given to youngsters signed compared to ones developing through our academy. Not every signing is for immediate use, some need development before they're ready, not all will make it, it's the nature of the game. McAteer does seem one who needs a little bit of work, however, as with many players, he's an injury or two away from being a regular. Ipswich has some exceptional talent for this level and he's being compared against those, that's a lot for a young player but hopefully he's aspirational enough to train hard and raise his game. Give him time.

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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 09:53 - Nov 6 I'm sure Kasey has potential, but unfortunately for him he has a young Norwegian ahead of him, whose name would be first on the team sheet if I had any say in the matter. Sindre is a great prospect and I'm expecting great things of him as the season progresses.
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Radlett_blue added 10:13 - Nov 6 Not his fault, but a ridiculous decision by McKenna to pay such an inflated fee for someone who isn't good enough to start. My Leicester season ticket holder friend couldn't believe what we paid!
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ChingShady added 10:21 - Nov 6 I think people need to relax on McAteer, only thing missing at the moment is a goal, which I understand is a massive part to be missing. However, whenever he's played his work rate on that right hand side has been a phenomenal effort. His ability to cover ground when off the ball and to get back into shape or when needed to go forward, he's got an engine on him and someone who can keep up the press for 90minutes. Like mentioned above, look at Jaden and JC? Hopeless when they first came, needed time, needed to understand the system, needed to gain confidence with their new team mates. It's a squad game now and I am happy he's here representing the shirt.

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Dissboyitfc added 12:33 - Nov 6 How many people thought Jaden would come good? I did lots didn’t and are probably the same ones not Giving McAteer time! Look at KMs track record of improving players! On another note, Norwich fans laughed at us for paying 10 million for Nunez, truth is and most admit this they wish they still had him! So don’t give a lot of credence to fans on players when they join us.

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