Kieran McKenna backed for Ipswich Town transfer action on £3m star who won't be a 'contributor' | OneFootball

FLW's Ipswich fan pundit doesn't think that Anis Mehmeti will feature much for the Tractor Boys in the Premier League

Ipswich Town secured promotion back to the Premier League this season, and the focus this summer will be on putting the squad in the best possible position to avoid another immediate relegation.

Kieran McKenna and the higher-ups at Ipswich will likely have learned from their recent top-flight foray, in which they spent well over £100 million, but mainly on players who had excelled in the Championship in recent years and were on the fringes of the Premier League.

As seen from the likes of Sunderland and Leeds United, who are both staying up in their top-flight returns this season, there can't be much room for sentiment, and Premier League quality and other top-flight experience need to be targeted.

Granted, there will be some players who have proven that they can cut it at the elite level, but a lot of those who have helped get the Tractor Boys back up may be left by the wayside. Despite signing under five months ago, Anis Mehmeti could fall in that bracket.

Ipswich Town fan pundit can't see a Premier League future for Anis Mehmeti

Mehmeti arrived in January from Bristol City, where he had just six months remaining on his contract. Because of that, Ipswich were able to bring him in for the bargain price of £3 million.

After eight goals and six assists in the first half of the season at Ashton Gate, and two goals in his first five starts for the Tractor Boys, perhaps he could have cemented himself as someone who could have cut it in the Premier League.

But, with no goal contributions since the end of February and a run of just three starts in the final eight games, that doesn't seem to be the case, and FLW's Ipswich fan pundit, Adam Wilkin, can't see the Albanian staying in Kieran McKenna's plans for the upcoming season.

"I think Mehmeti was one of those signings where it was just a case of getting that extra strength in depth in the building for the last few months of the season," he admitted.

"He did make a great start to his Ipswich career, but then faded a bit, and I don't think we should expect to see much of him in a blue and white shirt in the Premier League."

Mehmeti signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at Portman Road in January, so he is still contracted until the summer of 2029.

Therefore, Wilkin expects him to be loaned out, rather than sold, as an improved year in the Championship could see him back in the Ipswich fold next season, or if the Tractor Boys do get relegated once more, he could be a useful asset back in the second tier. But for now, his near future likely doesn't lie at his current club.

"I think he represented a good value for money deal at the time, and he's one I expect will go out on loan to the Championship next season, with the aim of getting game time and keeping his value high," the fan pundit continued.

"But I don't think he will be a contributor in the Premier League; he was very much a short-term acquisition."

Ipswich Town's decision on Anis Mehmeti will indicate how ruthless they'll be this summer

Ultimately, Mehmeti isn't the only player in the Ipswich squad who has clear top-end Championship quality, but has yet to prove it in the Premier League, whether he's been given that opportunity or not.

Heading into the January window, the Albanian was arguably one of the better attacking midfielders in the second tier, so if he ends up being left surplus to requirements as Ipswich make improvements, perhaps the likes of Jacob Greaves, Jack Taylor, and even top scorer Jack Clarke, who were all in and out of the starting eleven this season, may also be shipped out.

Ultimately, though, that may be what Ipswich need to do to remain competitive and stay above the dreaded relegation line next season in the Premier League. They've had their taste of top-flight football recently, and they don't want it to last a single season again.

If that does prove to be the case, there'll be a disorderly queue being formed outside Portman Road, full of ambitious Championship clubs with promotion as their goal, ready to take Mehmeti on for the season.