Ipswich Town urged to "profit" on £15m star - but he would not be a "massive loss" | OneFootball

FLW's Ipswich Town fan pundit has given his reaction to reports that defender Dara O'Shea is attracting Premier League transfer interest.

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 are preparing for life back in the Championship following their relegation from the Premier League.

Ipswich returned to the Premier League for the first time in 22 years last season after winning back-to-back promotions, but the top flight proved to be a little too tough for them, and they were relegated after finishing 19th in the table with just 22 points to their name.

The Tractor Boys have already lost one key player this summer following relegation, with star striker Liam Delap joining Chelsea for a fee of £30 million, and defender Dara O'Shea could be set to follow him out of the Portman Road exit door.

O'Shea only joined Ipswich last summer when he made the move from Burnley for a fee of £15 million, and after starting all but one league game after his arrival, he won the club's Player of the Year award.

The 26-year-old was unable to help the Tractor Boys beat the drop, but he could be given the opportunity to remain in the top flight next season, with The Irish Sun claiming his former club Burnley are keen to bring him back to Turf Moor, while Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are also showing an interest.

Ipswich Town, Dara O'Shea claim made as Leeds United, Burnley and Wolves circle

When asked for his thoughts on O'Shea's potential departure, FLW's Ipswich Town fan pundit Adam Wilkin questioned whether any of the defender's suitors would be willing to bid more than the £15 million the club paid for him last summer, and he insisted that he would not be too much of a loss for Kieran McKenna's side, despite his strong performances in the Premier League.

"At the end of the season when I sat and thought about players that might have Premier League interest, Dara O'Shea was probably second on my list behind Liam Delap," Adam told FLW.

"Of the ones I thought were at risk of being snapped up by a Premier League club, I thought he was the second most Premier League-ready player we have in the squad behind Delap given his experience and his ability.

"He is an excellent covering defender in one-on-one situations, which is really handy for a bottom half Premier League club when you're one-on-one with a lot of top, pacy strikers.

"The flip side of that is we did spend £15 million on him, so you'd expect that, if he did go, we'd want to make a profit.

"Whether any Premier League sides would be willing to pay £20m-25m or there are better options out there, I'm not sure.

"He's got four years left on his contract and might want to stay and play settled football in the Championship having moved twice from West Brom to Burnley and from Burnley to us in recent seasons.

"On the flip side of that, weirdly, I don't think it would be that big of a blow if he did leave.

"Now we've been relegated, I imagine we'll switch back to playing more possession-based football.

"One of his weaknesses this season for me was his ability on the ball and his pass completion rate.

"He was very good at doing the defensive work, but less good at actually getting attacks started, so I feel like if he was to leave, we still have excellent defenders in the building with Luke Woolfenden and Jacob Greaves, and that could end up being our Championship partnership for the season.

"If he does go, you'd obviously need someone to fill that defensive unit as a back-up, but I don't think he'd be a massive loss."

Dara O'Shea should stay at Ipswich Town this summer

O'Shea was one of few players to emerge with any credit from Ipswich's disappointing relegation season, so it is no surprise that he is attracting Premier League interest.

However, the three clubs reported to be keen on O'Shea - Burnley, Leeds and Wolves - are all likely to be competing at the bottom end of the top flight next season, and there is a chance that, if he was to join one of them, the Republic of Ireland international could suffer relegation for the third consecutive year.

Of course, the opportunity to continue playing at the highest level will no doubt appeal to O'Shea, but on this occasion, he should consider remaining at Portman Road and helping the Tractor Boys return to the Premier League at the first attempt.