Portsmouth braced for potential transfer disappointment as Ipswich Town, Conor Chaplin claim made | OneFootball

Conor Chaplin is currently on loan with Portsmouth from Ipswich Town

Kieran McKenna has confirmed that Ipswich Town will consider bringing Conor Chaplin back early from his loan stint with Portsmouth after the two teams meet on Sunday.

The Tractor Boys and Pompey will clash this weekend at Fratton Park, meaning the attacking midfielder will be unavailable for selection as he cannot play against his parent club.

Chaplin made his return to the south coast club late in the summer window, and he has so far proved a regular presence in John Mousinho’s side.

He’s made 19 appearances in the Championship, including 14 starts, contributing one assist since making his return to the club where he initially played at the beginning of his career until 2019.

However, there is a recall clause available in the terms of his temporary switch from Ipswich, which can be triggered during the January transfer window, should the Suffolk outfit choose to do so.

Kieran McKenna confirms Conor Chaplin recall thought for Ipswich Town

McKenna has claimed that no concrete talks have been held regarding Ipswich’s January plans just yet, and that work will begin in earnest after this weekend’s trip to Portsmouth.

However, he believes that players on loan should be part of that discussion, opening the door for a potential recall of Chaplin, as the club looks to aid their bid for promotion this month.

"There hasn't been any talks,” McKenna told the East Anglian Daily Times.

“I think assessments on what we want to do with the whole squad, ins or outs, balance of the squad, that comes after Sunday, to be honest.

"Of course, the club's working hard behind the scenes, but there's been such a busy run of games. Things can always change.

"We'll get past Sunday and then we'll sit down, we'll look at the four months since September and assess the group - where we think we could make any additions, where we might want to be a little bit tighter in the group.

"And, of course, players who are on loan will be part of those discussions.”

Ipswich moved up to second in the Championship table with their win over Oxford United on Thursday afternoon.

The Tractor Boys are eight points adrift of leaders Coventry City, but now occupy an automatic promotion spot.

The gap to Middlesbrough in third is just one point, highlighting the need to seek improvements to the first team squad, if they can be found.

McKenna’s side will travel to face 21st place Portsmouth on Sunday in a 3pm kick-off at Fratton Park, with the hosts looking to avoid dropping into the relegation zone.

Conor Chaplin recall would hurt Portsmouth - even despite his modest goal and assist record

Chaplin hasn’t been able to provide the potent attacking threat at Portsmouth that the club would’ve hoped for when he returned in the summer.

However, he’s still an important part of John Mousinho's plans evidently, and his departure would necessitate a replacement signing being made, which would be tricky.

Portsmouth will need reinforcements in attack this month regardless, as they need something to make a difference as relegation is a major concern otherwise.

But losing Chaplin would certainly be a blow, and it’s unclear whether he could make a real difference for Ipswich in their promotion push at this stage anyway, given the options they currently have in the number 10 role.