Exclusive: Ipswich Town star tipped for Cardiff City move over Charlton or Luton | OneFootball

FLW have spoken exclusively to Sky Sports Pundit Lee Hendrie about Ipswich striker Ali Al-Hamadi's next club amid talk of a Portman Road departure.

A chase could be on for the signature of Ipswich striker Ali Al-Hamadi, with the news that he could soon to be leaving Portman Road.

Ipswich Town have had a slightly underwhelming start to the 2025-26 season, with a mixed performance in their opening Championship match of the season at Birmingham City, followed by an early elimination from the EFL Cup at the hands of League Two Bromley.

Clearly there is still work to do at Portman Road this transfer window, and this requires space to be filled in order to bring in new players.

This now looks likely to mean the end of Ali Al-Hamadi's time at Ipswich. The striker has fallen down the pecking order at Portman Road, and it's been reported that manager Kieran McKenna has approved the striker leaving the club before the closure of this transfer window.

This has led to speculation concerning where the Iraqi international's next destination might be. Charlton, Luton Town and Cardiff City have all been reported to have an interest in him.

"Cardiff would be a good fit for him" - Lee Hendrie urges Al-Hamadi to consider Wales move

Football League World have spoken exclusively to Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie about Al-Hamadi, and he can see possible benefits from Al-Hamadi working with Nathan Jones at Charlton: "It was inevitable that this was going to happen, that Al-Hamadi was going to leave Ipswich. Obviously, he's sparked interest from the likes of Luton, Charlton and Cardiff. Nathan Jones at Charlton is very defensive-minded, but they play a number of formations which might just suit him."

But Hendrie feels that one of the three clubs linked to Al-Hamadi might be a clear fit for the striker: "Cardiff might be a better fit for him, the way they try to play attractive football, they've got a relatively young team and squad. I think out of the three, Cardiff would be a good fit for him, coming from Ipswich. I saw him play the other night, and they play a lot into wide areas which I think could play to his strengths."

And Hendrie feels that the coming season could be a big one for the striker: "It's going to be a big season for him, and whoever gets him will have to get the best out of him because he is capable of scoring goals."

Dropping to League One could be a case of one step backwards, two steps forwards for Al-Hamadi's career

Ali Al-Hamadi had, according to Teamtalk, reportedly expressed an preference to stay in the Championship, and that would be available to him were he to go to Charlton, but with the Addicks having just signed Charlie Kelman from QPR, whether he'd get the game time he needs could be open to question.

Dropping down to League One could be considered a backward step in terms of Al-Hamadi's career progress, but it could result in him taking one step back to take two forward, if he could get into the Cardiff team and be an instrumental player in getting them back into the Championship.

Cardiff City can be a febrile club at the best of times, with long-standing animosity towards the club's owner Vincent Tan from supporters. But with a 30,000-capacity stadium and a large support base, the Bluebirds have the capability of pushing for a quick return to the Championship, even though their collapse to the very bottom of that division last season.

Charlton Athletic, by contrast, may be playing a division higher, but having spent three years in the youth system at Swansea, Al-Hamadi is familiar with South Wales. Were Cardiff to get promoted this season and Charlton to get relegated, Ali Al-Hamadi could have cause to regret staying in the Championship by May after all.