Harry Clarke exit claim made at Ipswich Town - "I'd be very, very surprised" | OneFootball

FLW's Ipswich Town fan pundit gives their verdict on one player who should be loaned out or sold in January

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Ipswich Town’s impressive rise in recent seasons is a testament to the club's recruitment strategy and despite facing the drop from the Premier League last campaign, the squad that Kieran McKenna has at his disposal is more than good enough to reach those heights once again.

As Ipswich continue to battle their way through a tough start to the season, the Tractor Boys' recent form has brought the feel-good factor back to Portman Road as they are currently four games unbeaten, including three wins in that run.

For McKenna, as he fine-tunes his squad in pursuit of consistency and competition across the pitch, certain areas are beginning to look particularly well-stocked. Whereas others are rather sparse and is likely to lead to movement once the January transfer window comes around. The depth at the manager's disposal is a sign of the club’s progress that quality options are now available in most positions. However, one challenge is that it also presents a balancing act as the campaign moves deeper into the winter months.

With players pushing for regular minutes when it comes to squad selection, McKenna may soon be faced with a few tough decisions when the January window opens. And while no major overhaul is expected, the current balance of the squad, especially in defensive areas, suggests that a move or two could be on the cards post the festive period.

Ipswich Town urged to lighten the load in the full-back area

Throughout their time in the Championship, prior to their promotion and now, the Tractor Boys have proved to be a tough side to breakdown due to the stability they provide with towering centre-backs in their ranks such as Jacob Greaves and Dara O'Shea. But as for the full-back positions, Ipswich have recruited well in recent times, which has now led to somewhat of an overload in the wide defensive areas.

Having the likes of Leif Davis, Ben Johnson, Darnell Fulong and Ashley Young means that McKenna has got suitable coverage at the back, which could lead to a lightening of the load come January.

For Football League World's Ipswich Town fan pundit, Adam, he believes that Harry Clarke should be the player to make an exit due to constant injury concerns, and his departure in January would ease the wage bill.

Adam said: "A couple of weeks ago, I would have said to you that Ben Johnson was the most likely to leave the club in January, but now it looks like he is still going to be a versatile kind of left-back, left-wing, right-wing cover in recent games, given the injuries we've had.

"I think there's still a possibility that he might move on given the money that he's on. But then, probably the most obvious is Harry Clarke, who's coming back from another long-term injury, and he's probably looking at another loan away from the club.

"I'd say we're clearly overloaded at right-back with Furlong, Johnson, Young, and Clarke, so you'd expect at least two of them to move on. Obviously, Young and Johnson can cover at left-back with Conor Townsend injured. We don't have natural cover for Leif Davis, so that's an area where we are weak.

"If a right-back does not move on this January, I will be very, very surprised."

Harry Clarke struggling with game-time could likely lead to a January departure

For Clarke, his career over the past couple of seasons has been a struggle to say the least, with the full-back sustaining a long-term knee injury last season which has led to him getting back up to speed by playing twice for the U21 squad. Having merely made 13 appearances over the course of the 2024/25 campaign with Ipswich and when on loan with Sheffield United, Clarke has struggled to find any consistency to his game which could lead to a January exit.

The 24-year-old has made a keen impression for Ipswich in the past as he was as pivotal figure in their promotion-winning season to the top-flight, but since that triumph, a sequence of injuries has killed off his momentum in an Ipswich shirt, which now could mean another loan spell as aforementioned by Adam.

You'd seem to think that, given the pecking order between Furlong, Johnson, Young, and himself, he wouldn't be many Ipswich Town fans' first-choice and maybe even second-choice, meaning that if he were to leave Portman Road as soon as January, he wouldn't be dearly missed despite being at the club for two-and-a-half seasons.

Although Clarke is only 24 years of age, he can be labelled as somewhat of a journeyman, having played for Ross County and Hibernian in Scotland as well as Oldham and Stoke in England. However, one thing that can be said is that the right-back has lacked consistency wherever he has been, with the 23/24 season with Ipswich being his only season where he cemented himself as a regular 90-minute man week-in-week-out.