Opinion: Ipswich Town should avoid Manchester United loan agreement | OneFootball

Ipswich Town have been busy in the market so far this month, with three new additions already arriving at Portman Road.

Massimo Luongo returned to the club from Middlesbrough, while the Tractor Boys’ attacking options were strengthened with the loan signing of George Hirst from Leicester City and Nathan Broadhead from Everton, reportedly paying a seven-figure fee for his services.

But they are not done there and as we exclusively revealed, Ipswich are interested in Manchester United striker Charlie McNeill, along with Championship side Preston North End.

The Manchester Evening News claim that McNeill will be allowed out on loan this month and that the 19-year-old is willing to leave on a temporary basis.

McNeill was handed his United debut by Erik ten Hag in the Europa League defeat to Real Sociedad in September and he has a prolific record at youth level, as well as scoring three goals and providing one assist in five games in the EFL Trophy against Football League opposition earlier this season.

There is no doubt that McNeill is an exciting prospect and a potential reunion with Kieran McKenna, with the pair working together at Old Trafford previously, could be fruitful.

But Ipswich should be cautious about bringing in yet another forward, with Hirst, Broadhead, Freddie Ladapo, Conor Chaplin, Tyreece John-Jules, Gassan Ahadme, Kayden Jackson and Sone Aluko already on their books.

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McKenna also usually employs a system featuring just one striker, albeit with Chaplin in the number 10 role and Jackson and Aluko often featuring out wide, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how all these front men fit in.

The last thing that McKenna needs is to upset the balance of what is an already-talented squad, particularly with the Tractor Boys sitting third and very much in contention for automatic promotion, but it will be impossible for the 36-year-old to keep everyone happy should his options increase further.

Ipswich do have significant spending power and they have used it to their advantage this season to good effect, with most recruits proving successful so far, but they should resist the temptation to over-spend or bring in too many new faces this month.

The truth is that there is little need for change and as they are already League One’s top-scorers, their forward line did not require much improving.

After bringing in Hirst and Broadhead, McKenna should end his striker search and instead focus on finding the right combination up front to fire the Tractor Boys back into the automatic promotion places.