Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna urged to make brave selection call for Sheffield United - it involves 19-y/o | OneFootball

Could we see a full debut for Norway international forward Sindre Walle Egeli on Friday evening?

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…

Despite having a squad that looked tailor-made for an immediate push for promotion back to the Premier League, Ipswich Town have had a slow start to life back in the Championship.

The Tractor Boys' time back in the top flight of English football was brief, and Kieran McKenna's squad is much-changed from what he had at his disposal in 2024-25.

Gone are key players such as Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson, whilst individuals who were key to the 2023-24 promotion to the Premier League such as Conor Chaplin, Luke Woolfenden and Samy Morsy among others have departed in a mix of temporary and permanent deals.

One thing that the summer transfer window did bring though is a Hutchinson replacement in the form of Sindre Walle Egeli, whose arrival from Danish outfit Nordsjaelland saw a Championship record broken for an incoming deal, with a £17.5 million fee paid for the 19-year-old.

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna told to hand Sindre Walle Egeli full debut v Sheffield United

Walle Egeli arrives in Suffolk with a bright reputation - Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven were in talks to sign the attacker a month prior to his move to Ipswich, and the outlay for the deal means that he will need to hit the ground running.

He already started the season in fine form for Nordsjaelland with two goals and two assists in six Danish Superliga matches, and during the international break for Norway's under-21's, he slammed in a goal and two assists in a 5-0 drubbing of Slovenia.

The left-footed dynamo should be ready to go for the resumption of Championship action, although he'll have had minimal training sessions with his new team-mates ahead of Friday night's clash with Sheffield United at Portman Road - FLW's Town fan pundit Adam Wilkin though believes that the teenager should be thrown straight into the starting 11 against the Blades in a bid to help them get their first league win of the season on the board.

"If you're good enough, you're old enough, and I think he's proved that over the international break - albeit against lesser opposition with Norway's under-21's," Adam told FLW.

"But as the Championship record signing, I'd expect to see him from the start against Sheffield United, to be honest.

"It's not likely to be one of our most competitive games, and he might dip in and out of the team, and McKenna will probably look to go with starters and finishers again.

"But the balance on that right-hand side hasn't quite been right, and I think that him coming in there will offer something different to the current players.

"So, I would be starting him and letting him adjust to the Championship in this game. His minutes will have to be managed, but the talent is there for him to start against Sheffield United."

Sindre Walle Egeli needs a big 2025-26 season to repay huge Ipswich Town transfer fee

Ipswich aren't going to break the Championship transfer record on a player that they don't believe will make an impact almost immediately - which is why Walle Egeli needs chucking into the starting 11 as soon as possible.

Town appear to be lacking balance on the pitch, with a left-footed attacking midfielder needed ever since Omari Hutchinson appeared destined for an immediate return to the Premier League.

Kasey McAteer, Jack Clarke and the now-Sheffield United loanee Chiedozie Ogbene have all started on the right flank in league matches since the start of the season, and all have one thing in common - they are predominantly right-footed, something which Hutchinson wasn't and Walle Egeli also isn't.

A goalscorer and a creator as proven in the Danish Superliga, Walle Egeli should offer something to McKenna that his side has been missing on the pitch in the opening few weeks of the season - it's now time for him to show Ipswich and the Championship what he's about.