"He is an Ipswich Town boy" - Claim made on Luke Woolfenden's Portman Road future | OneFootball

FLW's Ipswich fan pundit has given his verdict on Luke Woolfenden's future at the club

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 addition of Cedric Kipre to the squad this summer now leaves them with four options to play centre-back in Kieran McKenna’s side.

The departure of Axel Tuanzebe has led to the arrival of the former West Brom player, who has joined on loan for the campaign.

The Tractor Boys also have Jacob Greaves, Dara O’Shea, both of which were signed last year, as well as Luke Woolfenden.

McKenna will be hoping his squad is good enough to compete for promotion back to the Premier League this year, with their sights set on a swift return to the division.

Luke Woolfenden’s Ipswich future

When asked if Woolfenden should be considering his Portman Road future, FLW’s Ipswich fan pundit Adam Wilkin claimed that the club won’t be pushing to sell him.

While he wouldn’t begrudge the player for seeking a move, he is optimistic that the 26-year-old will get plenty of opportunities to play minutes in the Championship this season.

“I think Luke Woolfenden is one of the more underrated members of the squad,” Wilkin told Football League World.

“He didn’t get as many games in the Premier League as he probably would’ve liked last year, but whenever he did play he never let the team down.

“I can’t see him moving on from a club perspective, four central defenders is usually what Kieran McKenna likes to go into the season with, and having that group of four is a very solid group.

“You never know what’s going to happen with injuries, despite currently it looking like him being maybe fourth choice, but I don’t think he is fourth choice I think he’s second choice for the right-sided centre-back role, and then Greaves and Kipre are the left-sided roles — although Kipre can play both sides.

“There’s also the potential that McKenna might opt to use a back-three on occasion.

“In our first pre-season friendly, he went with three and Woolfenden played almost right-back there, so I don’t think it’s out of the question that he could still get a considerable number of Championship games.

“He’s our best defender on the ball in terms of his passing ability, he had one of the best pass completion percentages in the squad last year.

“So from a club perspective, I don’t think Ipswich will be looking to move him on.

“From a player perspective, he was linked with Inter Miami towards halfway through last season, and you couldn’t begrudge him that kind of move.

“But I think even if he’s not playing that regularly, he’ll still be given opportunities with the Saturday-Tuesday nature of the league, and the fact McKenna likes to keep his squad fresh.

“And I think he’ll still be learning from an excellent manager and being part of an excellent group, and because he is an Ipswich Town boy himself I think that will still hold some sway, so I don’t think he’ll be overly angling to move on this season, even if doesn’t get that many minutes.”

Ipswich will start their Championship campaign on 8 August with a trip to face Birmingham City.

Woolfenden could still have a role at Ipswich

Four centre-backs in a squad is a reasonable number to keep, and McKenna will likely want it to stay that way.

Of course, if a good offer arrives for Woolfenden, then Ipswich will have to consider the pros and cons of it all.

But unless the defender pushes for a move, the Tractor Boys should be keen to keep hold of him for the time being.

He is still only 26, knows the club well and he knows what it takes to compete to a high standard at this level, so he will be a useful player to have in the squad.