Why Ipswich Town should beat Portsmouth and others in 12-club race for Cardiff City star | OneFootball

Ipswich Town should join the 12-club transfer race for Cardiff City midfielder Alex Robertson.

Ipswich Town will be one of the promotion favourites in the Championship next season, but manager Kieran McKenna still has work to do on his squad before the end of the transfer window.

After winning back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League, Ipswich returned to the top flight for the first time in 22 years last season, but they found life tough at the highest level.

Having spent almost the entire season in the bottom three, the Tractor Boys were relegated with four games still to play, and they ended the campaign with a disappointing total of just 22 points to their name.

Ipswich sold star striker Liam Delap to Chelsea for a fee of £30 million last month, and he has not been the only high-profile departure from Portman Road this summer, with the exits leaving McKenna particularly light in midfiel.

Kieran McKenna will need to strengthen Ipswich Town midfield after triple exit

While Ipswich supporters were disappointed to see Delap depart, they said an even more emotional farewell to midfielder Massimo Luongo this summer after he was released at the end of his contract.

Luongo joined the Tractor Boys on a free transfer in January 2023 after his departure from Middlesbrough, and he went on to score six goals in 86 appearances for the club, playing a crucial role in their two consecutive promotions.

However, Luongo made just 15 appearances for Ipswich last season, with only four of those coming from the start, and after announcing that he would be leaving the club, McKenna described the 32-year-old as an "incredible player" and claimed that "he might be the best free signing in football history".

Luongo may not have featured much for the Tractor Boys in recent times, but he will still leave a void in their midfield, and one player who will be even more difficult to replace is Jens Cajuste, who scored one goal and provided one assist in 31 games last season after arriving on loan from Napoli.

Cajuste was widely regarded as one of Ipswich's better performers during their relegation season, and chief executive Mark Ashton claimed last month that the club were in talks to bring the Swedish international back to Suffolk, but with Turkish side Besiktas now said to be showing interest, their hopes of securing his return may be fading.

Kalvin Phillips scored one goal in 22 appearances during a frustrating loan spell at Portman Road last season, and while there will not be a huge clamour from the Tractor Boys faithful for the Manchester City man to return, his exit further depletes McKenna's midfield options.

Ipswich Town should target Cardiff City midfielder Alex Robertson

The departures of Luongo, Cajuste and Phillips mean that Sam Morsy, Jack Taylor and Cameron Humphreys are currently Ipswich's only central midfield options, and there is a chance that the latter could be loaned out again this summer after spending last season at Wycombe Wanderers.

While his team is full of depth in many areas, McKenna will need to bolster his midfield before the closure of the transfer window, and he should make a move for Cardiff City star Alex Robertson.

Robertson joined the Bluebirds for an initial fee of £1 million, which could eventually rise to around £3 million, last summer, but while his debut season in South Wales ended in disappointment as his side were relegated to League One, he still managed to impress on an individual level, scoring four goals and providing three assists in 39 appearances.

That is underlined by the fact that as many as 12 Championship clubs are reportedly keeping tabs on Robertson this summer, with Portsmouth believed to be among his suitors after he helped them to the League One title during his loan spell at Fratton Park in the 2023-24 season, while sides from Europe and the MLS are also thought to be keen.

Ipswich would face strong competition for Robertson's signature, but they would have the financial resources to outbid many of their second tier rivals, as well as potentially being able to tempt him with the most exciting project, and, at the age of 22, he could represent a shrewd long-term investment for the club.

Given that Robertson performed well for a Cardiff side that finished bottom of the table, he would surely thrive with the Tractor Boys, who are expected to compete for the title next season, and, having come through the Manchester City academy, he possesses real quality on the ball that would make him the perfect fit for McKenna's style of play.

Ipswich are yet to complete a signing this summer, but they will be keen to make some high-profile moves in the transfer market over the coming weeks, and with half of the Championship said to be chasing Robertson, it would be a big statement of intent if they were to win the race for the Scotland-born Australia international.