Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit fears Ipswich Town "struggle" for £1m man - Portman Road exit "inevitable" | OneFootball

Speaking exclusively with FLW, Lee Hendrie has been discussing the Ipswich future of Ali Al-Hamadi.

Ali Al-Hamadi has struggled to make an impact since signing for Ipswich Town in January 2024.

The 23-year-old was acquired from Wimbledon for around £1 million, and scored four goals in 14 games as Kieran McKenna’s side achieved promotion to the Premier League in the 23/24 season.

After failing to find the back of the net in 11 top flight outings during the first half of last term, the young striker signed for Stoke City on loan in the 2025 winter transfer window, but only managed to net twice in 15 games for the Potters.

Ipswich lost Liam Delap to Chelsea earlier in the summer, which arguably opens the door for Al-Hamadi to cement his place in the Tractor Boys’ starting lineup.

Lee Hendrie casts doubt over Ali Al-Hamadi’s Ipswich Town future

However, when speaking exclusively to Football League World, Sky Sports pundit and Aston Villa legend Lee Hendrie revealed that he can’t see the forward playing consistently for Ipswich next term.

“Al-Hamadi went out on loan to Stoke but didn't manage to hit the heights that were expected,” stated Hendrie. “He scored just a couple of goals.

“This is a player that you expect to really give it a good go in the Championship. He went to a Stoke side that struggled down towards the bottom of the table. I don't think that’s beneficial, and it didn’t help his cause really.

“I think for Ipswich, who have lost Delap, are going to want a little bit of versatility in that striker area. It's a question whether he's going to play week in, week out, or he's going to buy into trying to work his way into the side.

“I don't think that's going to happen in this current moment at Ipswich, so that is a tricky one for Al-Hamadi.

"I think that having a little bit of strength and depth in that area is always good, particularly in a decent side, but it's whether he's going to get frustrated if they do happen to bring in a striker that's going to be their ultimate number nine, which it looks like they're trying to do.

“I think he's going to struggle to really find game time, and it might be inevitable that he will end up going out on loan.”

Ipswich can’t rely on Ali Al-Hamadi to lead the line next season

McKenna and Co. enter the 2025/26 campaign with one clear goal – to reclaim their Premier League status at the first time of asking.

For that to happen, they will need a guaranteed source of goals, and Al-Hamadi hasn’t proven that he can provide them, at least not at Championship level yet.

The forward wouldn’t have been brought to Portman Road if the club didn’t believe that he could develop into a regular starter in the future, however, and his goal record from his time at Wimbledon - albeit playing League Two football - should give the Tractor Boys confidence there is a goalscorer there to unlock.

However, just two goals for Stoke City last term won’t have filled McKenna with confidence that Al-Hamadi is at that stage yet.

Therefore, it seems unlikely that he will be selected as Delap’s successor, which means another loan move might be the best option for the Iraq international.