The Ipswich Town players likely to leave in the next few weeks | OneFootball

Ipswich Town have ridden the crest of a wave throughout 2023, and as attention turns to the New Year, Kieran McKenna will be looking to make the necessary changes that help maintain the Tractor Boys' surge towards back-to-back promotions.

This Town side have been a joy to watch over the last twelve months, but the Northern Irishman has the difficult task of making some brutal decisions if the club are to take a quicker than expected step up to the next level.

After promotion to the second tier, Ipswich saw thirteen players depart from Portman Road on either permanent or temporary deals.

And with the January transfer window fast approaching, FLW has decided to look at some who could follow suit.

Sone Aluko

While Aluko could be forgiven for wanting to stick around and have yet another promotion to the top flight on his CV, the reality is that the experienced frontman won't feature prominently at this level anymore.

The 34-year-old has rarely got a look in under McKenna's management, which has continued into this season, only featuring in Town's four EFL Cup outings. Whilst he's out of contract in the summer, an early termination would be ideal for Ipswich to give them more room to manouvre in the remainder of the transfer window.

Dane Scarlett

Next up is a potential recall by Tottenham Hotspur for Dane Scarlett, as the 19-year-old hasn't had a fruitful six months in Suffolk.

Despite the form of Town's fellow attacking options, with Chaplin, Ladapo, Hirst and Broadhead contributing to over half of Town's 47 strikes, the Spurs loanee has featured twelve times and is yet to find the back of the net.

In 12 Championship appearances, Scarlett has only clocked up 146 minutes of football, and with it being revealed that the Blues board are prepared to back McKenna when it comes to acquiring a new centre-forward, could this make the England U21 international's days at Portman Road numbered?

Dominic Ball

Yet another man with links to Tottenham follows in the form of central midfielder Dominic Ball, who, at 28 years of age will be far from satisfied with his own circumstances despite Town's exploits at the top of the Championship.

Similarly to the aforementioned Aluko, all of his starts this season came in the run to the EFL Cup Round of 16, which ended in defeat to Premier League Fulham back in October.

The former QPR man would definitely be hoping for offers at another club potentially lower down the Championship, as he's played 108 of his overall career games at second tier level.

Janoi Donacien

The versatile defender may have extended his stay at Portman Road by another year last April, but Donacien is yet another man whose departure makes a lot of sense for both club and player.

Donacien now finds himself behind boyhood Town fan Harry Clarke and the also versatile Brandon Williams, who has featured on the right side in eleven of his thirteen league outings after joining on loan from Manchester United.

Despite being a loyal servant to the club throughout a tough period in its history, which has seen him accumulate 127 appearances, the Saint Lucia international hasn't been involved in a matchday squad in the league since November 25th, which echoes the argument that he won't be in Suffolk much longer.

Elkan Baggott

Last but by no means least is the Indonesian international Elkan Baggott, who could depart on loan in the upcoming window.

It was revealed exclusively by FLW on Deadline Day that the 21-year-old was set to join Blackpool before a deal failed to materialise.

With the addition of Axel Tuanzebe post transfer-window, the 21-year-old has simultaneously been pushed further down McKenna's pecking order, despite being at an age where regular football is key to aiding future development.

An ideal scenario for the former Gillingham and Cheltenham loanee would be a temporary move back to the third tier, giving Ipswich the chance to assess next steps in the summer with his contract at Portman Road active until 2025.