Ipswich Town will strike gold with Lewis Miley, Lewis Cook or Philip Billing | OneFootball

Kieran McKenna is angling to bolster his midfield with Premier League quality ahead of a Championship promotion push

Ipswich Town are slowly starting to create a well-rounded squad ready to compete at the top of the Championship.

Uncertainty surrounding top players departing seems to be resolved, and the re-addition of Jens Cajuste and the loan signing of Chuba Akpom are making the Tractor Boys look a little more solid across the field as they find their feet once more in the second tier.

Next up for McKenna is a ball-carrying midfielder, someone to play alongside Cajuste or Matusiwa, who can start attacks from inside their own half, similarly to how Sam Morsy did alongside Massimo Luongo the last time Ipswich were in the Championship.

And it seems that McKenna's side are aiming high when it comes to the targets for that role, with Newcastle United's Lewis Miley joining Bournemouth's duo Lewis Cook and Philip Billing as a trio linked with loan moves to Portman Road, according to a report from the Daily Mail.

All three would be exceptional signings for the level and would affirm Ipswich's promotion bid this season.

Top-level experience found in Ipswich Town's three-man shortlist

All three of Miley, Cook and Billing would provide quality to the Ipswich midfield, as well as that Premier League experience, which puts them a cut above the rest when it comes to the Championship.

Cook and Billing more so than Miley, with the Bournemouth duo having spent the last three seasons playing regular top-flight football since they were both part of the Cherries side which tasted Championship promotion in the 2021/22 campaign.

Cook has been a regular in the Bournemouth side for a few seasons now under Andoni Iraola, missing just seven league games since the Spaniard took charge in 2023, even captaining the side on occasion last season.

He missed the opening day against Liverpool with a knee injury, but you'd expect he'll be back playing regularly for Bournemouth upon his return. Therefore, Billing is the more likely of the two to perhaps be angling for a move, after the Danish international spent the latter half of the 2024/25 campaign away from the Vitality Stadium.

That period was at the eventual Serie A champions, Napoli, though, so perhaps a move to the second tier in England could be seen as a step-down. Saying that, Billing made just one start whilst at the Diego Maradona Stadium, and that was the side's only loss in the second half of the season against Como, so a move for more regular game time could be an attractive one.

As for Miley, whilst he doesn't have the vast experience of Billing or Cook, his exposure to top-level first-team football in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, despite being a teenager, would immediately make him one of the better players in the Championship at such a young age.

The 2006-born star broke into the Newcastle squad midway through the 2023/24 season, but he hasn't been able to regain that level of consistency in the starting eleven following a back injury, which ended that campaign early.

With the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton marshalling the middle of the park at St James' Park, it's difficult to see Miley getting starts in the short term, so a move to a side expected to challenge near the top of the Championship would allow the 19-year-old to excel with regular gametime.

More control in Ipswich Town's squad emerging as transfer deadline looms near

After an early scare on opening night away at Birmingham City, and a shock defeat against Bromley in the EFL Cup, many were beginning to write Ipswich off as the championship contenders many had predicted them to be.

However, as is often the case surrounding sides recently relegated from the Premier League, it sometimes takes the entire transfer window to sort out the side and find a regular eleven for the rest of the campaign. Ultimately, that process bleeds into the new season.

Ipswich will be happy that they have yet to lose in the league through two games, which, on paper, seem rather difficult. Plus, their performance against Southampton, another side who are looking to find their feet in a new league, showed glimpses of a more controlled Ipswich outfit.

McKenna now has more players around who he knows are committed for the season ahead, and the focus in the meantime is on replacing those who have departed. Miley, Cook and Billing are three exceptional targets, and if any of those find their way to Portman Road for the season, expect Ipswich to start kicking on sooner rather than later.