Claim made on Wes Burns' Ipswich Town future - 'sad' exit scenario raised | OneFootball

Wes Burns' contract at Portman Road is set to expire next June

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's season has been very up-and-down thus far, despite the so-called 'embarrassment of riches' supposedly at Kieran McKenna's disposal.

Before the Championship season began, the Tractor Boys were immediately made favourites for automatic promotion or, in many cases, the second tier title, such is the quality which oozes throughout the current squad at Portman Road.

After back-to-back promotions between League One and the Premier League were achieved across a two-season span, Town were able to sample the riches associated with the top-flight for a 10-month period, significantly increasing the club's cash-flow in the process whilst also making big-money sales and profits on both Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson following their fall back into the EFL.

Throughout the summer transfer window, McKenna oversaw a fair overhaul in Suffolk, recruiting a handful of seasoned high-profile Championship performers as well as the occasional 'wonderkid', such as the division's all-time record signing in the form of Sindre Walle Egeli, to compensate for the loss of stalwarts such as, Cameron Burgess, Luke Woolfenden, Sam Morsy and Conor Chaplin.

Some of the club's modern-day heroes from the aforementioned two-year period still remain very much a part of the Northern Irishman's plans, such as attack-minded left-back Leif Davis and George Hirst.

However, with the majority of his former teammates now gone, FLW asked our resident Ipswich Town fan pundit, Adam Wilkin, whether he sees Welsh international, Wes Burns, being kept at the club beyond next June, when his current contract expires.

Burns has become part of the furniture at Portman Road in recent years, joining the club on an initial three-year contract under Paul Cook from Fleetwood Town in June 2021 in the midst of the club's four-year stint in the third tier.

The Cardiff-born man would then go on to become a major transfer masterstroke for the Blues under McKenna following his appointment later that year, scoring 14 times - including a stunning 'trivela' against Coventry City in December 2023 - and posting a further 18 assists during the run of successive promotions back to the top flight.

He continued to feature as a mainstay in the side despite the permanent arrival of Hutchinson from Chelsea last summer, before suffering a cruel ACL blow in January against Liverpool.

With the club subsequently recruiting Walle Egeli and Kasey McAteer from Leicester City, as much as Wilkin would love Burns to stay for sentimental reasons, he believes his immediate future at Ipswich is very much up for debate.

"It's really up in the air with Wes," he said. "From his perspective, I don't know if he'd want to move as well, although most of the players he played with have now left. He's been sat there injured as they've gone, and we've rebuilt.

"There's still no one who quite does what he does in terms of that right-wing spot," Wilkin claimed. "But, you'd think Kasey McAteer's been brought in as the long-term replacement.

"He's just had a child and seems fairly settled in Suffolk. If he wanted to stay, it would be a good option for him. Whether we'd want to strengthen in that position or whether we see him as a player that may not be able to step up to the Premier League if we went up again is a different question.

"My heart says, 100 percent (give him a contract)," our fan pundit stated. "He's a modern-day legend for all that he's done in the past two or three years.

"But, my head says, if we got another right-winger in January or next summer, it may be time for him to move on, which is sad to see."

Wes Burns will hope to give Ipswich Town big contract decision upon injury return

Burns' most-recent extension last September was the culmination of two stellar seasons' worth of contributions off the right flank, and it is a shame that the 10-cap international wasn't able to continue showcasing his strong work rate and quality in the Premier League during the second half of the season.

As our fan pundit highlighted, Town have massively rebuilt their squad in such a short timeframe since, and due to their fluid options in attack, even natural right-wingers aren't necessarily featuring in said position all the time, which could have an impact on how Burns is utilised in the coming weeks and months.

However, the wide man will certainly hope to give Town a major decision to make when he soon returns from his ACL lay-off. Whether it ends in a contract extension remains to be seen, but he certainly wouldn't be short of offers from other clubs either.