Blues forward Chieo Ogbene, who along with skipper Dara O’Shea is set for international action when the Republic of Ireland face Grenada in a friendly in Murcia, Spain this evening (KO 5pm, RTE Player), says he hopes to be part of Town’s plans in the Premier League next season.

Ogbene joined the Blues from Luton for £8 million in the summer of 2024 but his career at the club had only just got going when he ruptured an achilles at Brentford in the October.

The 29-year-old missed the rest of the campaign but returned in pre-season last summer and featured in the Blues’ first three matches before being sent out on loan to Sheffield United.

But his spell with the Blades didn’t go to plan, manager Ruben Selles was sacked only a few weeks after Ogbene signed and returning boss Chris Wilder rarely used him - the South Yorkshiremen had more than five loanees and the winger was often the man left out - with a hamstring injury suffered while with Ireland also a setback. In total, he made only nine starts and four sub appearances, scoring once.

Now, the Lagos-born, Cork-raised forward, who has two years left on his contract, is looking to get back into what he expects to be a Town squad which fares better in the Premier League next season than they did in 2024/25.

“I think the second time around you’re always going to be wiser and Kieran McKenna is a phenomenal manager,” he said.

“I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I’m sure Ipswich will be better prepared, they’re going to know what’s required and know the margins are very tight. so I’m sure they’ll be pushing to tighten up in each position.

“I just had a brief conversation with the gaffer and he said ’I want you to be in the best shape possible come pre-season’. That’s the only thing I can control. What will be, will be.

“For me, I think the biggest factor of why I didn’t feature in the Championship is I’d just come back from an achilles injury and Ipswich were coming from the Premier League so there were expectations to try to go back up.

“The manager spoke to me and said, ’Listen we need someone firing right now’, so I understood that.

“For me to go out on loan, that was why I did that. It would have been different if I didn’t have an injury. My mentality is to make sure that I’m in the manager’s eye lines from pre-season.

“If Ipswich opt to go for a transitional-based style I would hope that I would be part of the plans. If not I’ll always be ready for whatever.

“I think I might be of use in the Premier League with the way I play, so hopefully, but listen, I’m always prepared for everything.”

On his Sheffield United stint, he added: “I always want to push myself. Yes, there were only five loan players that can be on the bench but I didn’t just sit back and say ’It’s the manager’s fault’.

“I always wanted to make sure that I forced the manager to make me be in the five, but it just never happened for me.

“At least I can look back and say I did everything that I could, to try to be in the team. I don’t think there’s any more I could have really controlled.

“That’s why I’m proud of myself and the year I had. I’ve been on the other side where I’ve got everything my own way.

“So I think for me to have the season like this kind of wakes me up to know that nothing can ever be taken for granted.

“I know from the outside, people say that I had a very difficult season for me. I was given the opportunity to play for the national team, which is a privilege, and I learned so much from the year I had, like being patient.

“I’ve never been in this position where I haven’t played many league games, playing 21s and trying to keep myself topped up, these are stuff I’ve never really done.

“But to act like a champion daily when you’re not getting any joy, that’s something I really learned because I haven’t been put in that position before.

“So I really tested my character. I know a lot of people give me credit and say I was a professional, but it was tough, to go in every day and choose to do extras, choose to play 21 games, because obviously there’s not much intensity to it.

“It was difficult, but it’s something that I knew I had to do. It’s a game that I enjoy, it’s a job that I really enjoy and there’s a timer on it.

“So I wanted to give everything so I can look at my son, or my daughter, if I have one down the line, and say I give everything, so that’s something I really wanted to do for myself.”

Ogbene and O’Shea both seem likely to start this evening as part of an experimental side having been in the XI which took on local side Real Murcia B on Tuesday during the week-long training camp.

Manager Heimir Hallgrímsson named a squad which omitted those whose domestic teams are still in competitive action and called up a number of uncapped players.

O’Shea, the most experienced member of the party, may well skipper the team as he wins his 44th cap.

Ogbene, who has previously played 32 times at full international level, scoring four times, says he has no issue with international friendlies at the end of a season and Grenada, whose squad includes ex-Town full-back Kane Vincent-Young, will be treated with the utmost seriousness.

”Getting called to represent your country is not something I’d ever take lightly.,” he said. “It’s always a good opportunity, you never know when your last cap could be.

“For me, it’s not like I’m making a sacrifice, this is something that gives me joy. We always make sure that every international fixture is taken seriously. That’s the culture. We watched videos of Grenada and they’re very athletic and very good on the counter. We have to respect them.

“We don’t want to lose and give up FIFA ranking points that could put us in a better position come Euro 2028.

“I’m desperate to play. Dara O’Shea after winning [promotion from] the Championship is still here, desperate to play. And we want to win.”

Kasey McAteer was initially named in the squad before pulling out with injury, while Jack Taylor and another Town player who has been on loan, Sammie Szmodics, were left out due to ongoing injuries, the midfielder subsequently undergoing knee surgery.

Ireland have two more friendlies, Qatar in Dublin on May 28th and a trip to Canada on June 6th, but a separate squad will be selected for those games with Hallgrímsson expected to leave out some players who have had busy seasons.

Republic of Ireland: Max O’Leary (WBA), Josh Keeley (Luton Town), Killian Cahill (Leyton Orient), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich), Eiran Cashin (Blackburn), James Abankwah (Watford), Mark McGuinness (Sheff United), Tayo Adaramola (Sheff Wednesday), Jayson Molumby (WBA), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Conor Coventry (Charlton Ath), Andrew Moran (Preston), Rory Finneran (Newcastle), Adam Idah (Swansea City), Tom Cannon (Sheff United), Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich), Millenic Alli (Portsmouth), Jack Moylan (Lincoln City), Aidomo Emakhu (Oxford Utd).

Photo: Andrew Surma/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect