Ipswich Town and Leicester City’s respective situations have come under scrutiny in the opening weeks of the season, having both been recently demoted from the Premier League.
Both clubs had, predictably, been backed for an instant return to the top tier of English football by many, even though there were numerous alterations made to the playing squads and beyond at either Portman Road or the King Power Stadium.
Kieran McKenna remains one of the most highly-regarded domestic coaches in the nation, and there is an opinion that the Tractor Boys now possess the strongest overall squad in the Championship, even after losing talents such as Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson to Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.
Meanwhile, the Foxes’ options were somewhat limited in the summer market, with the newly-appointed Marti Cifuentes saying goodbye to several long-term servants and seasoned players while welcoming four fresh signings – none of whom involved a transfer fee due to the uncertainty surrounding a possible points deduction and further penalties following alleged breaches of PSR rules.
Nevertheless, it is the East Midlands outfit who have begun the quicker in terms of their position in the standings as we move into October, although Town have certainly built momentum with two wins and a draw against Sheffield United, Portsmouth and Bristol City either side of their abandoned away clash with Blackburn Rovers.
It is also Leicester who appear to be the early beneficiaries of a notable transfer transaction between the two teams as well, and that impression could certainly persist, much to the annoyance of those at Portman Road.
Kasey McAteer was inconsistent for Leicester City before Ipswich Town move:
After making a solitary outing for Leicester back in the 2021/22 campaign, Kasey McAteer’s real breakthrough into the senior squad at the King Power came under Enzo Maresca two years ago.
To his credit, McAteer was initially one of the Foxes’ standout performers as they flew out of the blocks, with his crucial brace against Rotherham United backed up by goals versus Southampton and Norwich City – all within the first six weeks of the season.
However, since sustaining his first minor injury issue in the Autumn of 2023, the Northampton-born attacker is yet to rediscover the same level, and that carried on throughout the remainder of Maresca’s title-winning campaign, although he did round it off with a strike in the decisive 3-0 triumph at Deepdale against Preston North End.
Despite the initial encouraging signs, McAteer was unable to convincingly demonstrate that he has the ability to develop into an established Premier League player, only recording nine starts and the same number of substitute appearances under Steve Cooper and Ruud Van Nistelrooy amid further fitness setbacks, with the last of his eight Leicester goals ironically coming against his present employers in May.
Therefore, it was a huge shock, not only to see Ipswich first show their interest in the eight-cap international’s services, but also the fact they agreed to part with a reported £12m for a player who, while showing flashes of ability, hasn’t truly justified such a valuation.
Kasey McAteer is yet to impress Ipswich Town supporters – Leicester City may have won transfer deal early on:
Much like how Luton Town operated in 2023/24, Ipswich were able to secure several of the Championship’s previous standouts such as Delap, Jack Clarke, Sammie Szmodics and Jacob Greaves, alongside the likes of the equally-notable Leif Davis, who was already embedded under McKenna.
This was highlighted once again in January when Town captured long-term target Jaden Philogene, who has recently come alive in blue after a somewhat frustrating beginning following his switch from Aston Villa.
He, much like the aforementioned Clarke, is capable of operating on either wing to devastating effect, as proven by his hat-trick against the Blades last month, while the ex-Sunderland wide man has already netted three times.
Therefore, McAteer was seemingly facing an uphill struggle in terms of claiming a starting role in East Anglia. Yet, while the 23-year-old has started three games on the right side, he is yet to win over the Suffolk faithful.
As a result, it is difficult to see McKenna handing the new addition a regular place unless his personal standards and productivity improve, particularly after the club exceeded the earlier fee paid for his signature by smashing the all-time Championship record for an incoming, spending £17.5m on Norwegian striker, Sindre Walle Egeli.
As such, those in the East Midlands will feel that their club have gained the upper hand in the deal so far, although there is still time for McAteer to silence the doubters.