Ipswich Town have identified Mark McGuinness as a late deadline day signing to bolster their squad.
The Tractor Boys have been active on deadline day in terms of sales, with Ali Al-Hamadi heading to Luton Town on a loan-to-buy deal and Luke Woolfenden expected to join Coventry City on a permanent deal. However, Kieran McKenna has seemingly identified a new defensive option from the club they are selling Al-Hamadi to.
McGuinness Deal Revealed
According to Football League World, Mark McGuinness could be on his way to Ipswich Town in a late bid by the Suffolk club to sign new options ahead of the 7pm deadline. The Hatters’ record signing, the Irish international, arrived at Kenilworth Road from Cardiff City last summer for an undisclosed fee which was described as a ‘significant’ sum.
McGuiness has played 51 times for Luton since joining in what was a tough opening season at the club as they suffered a second straight relegation and saw Rob Edwards sacked midseason and Wycombe Wanderers‘ Matt Bloomfield replacing him. The defender has had a disrupted start to the season after a virus kept him out of pre-season, forcing him to come on from the bench in their opening day clash against AFC Wimbledon.
It comes as Luke Woolfenden’s move to Coventry City beckons, after the defender expressed his wish to leave in this window. Sky Blues had previously had a bid rejected by the Tractor Boys earlier in the window, and have fended off Championship rivals Watford and Stoke City for the 26-year-old, with Sky Sports reporting a £4 million fee.
Writers’ View
Mark McGuinness would arrive at Luton Town as a strong option to make their squad. Whilst there certainly are other defenders at Luton that are high calibre, such as Teden Mengi, McGuiness did well in what was a very difficult atmosphere at Kenilworth Road where everything went wrong. Ipswich will certainly be pushing for promotion this season, but it is their attack that needs to get into gear first; having a very strong defence may see them through very difficult fixtures until players like Sammie Szmodics and George Hirst can find their shooting boots.
