Arsenal have apparently sent officials to run the rule over a new potential transfer target for Mikel Arteta, and he's been called an "assist king".

Who could Arsenal sign in January?

The north Londoners, currently joint-top of the Premier League table with arch rivals Tottenham, are currently unbeaten in the top flight and have won six out of a possible eight league matches. Their statement 1-0 win over league champions Man City, courtesy of a late deflected effort from winger Gabriel Martinelli, puts them in very good stead for the league's resumption after this international break.

However, there are arguable holes yet to fix in Arteta's first team, despite transfer chief Edu and the club spending over £200 million in the summer window. While the likes of club-record capture Declan Rice and goalkeeper David Raya have gone on to become mainstays for Arteta, Arsenal failed to bring in an out-and-out striker, instead opting for Kai Havertz as more of a makeshift option alongside both Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.

Indeed, you could argue they quite simply need a new striker if they're going to be competing at the highest level, amid their links to Brentford striker Ivan Toney.

"I always think that you need a bit of back-up," club legend Ray Parlour told JBI Training (via The Metro) recently.

"Eddie Nketiah did really well when he came into the team last season, but the Arsenal sides I was part of always had four really good strikers. I do think we need that extra striker. If Gabriel Jesus gets injured again, is Eddie going to be able to come in and do well enough in the Champions League? I know that we could play with a false nine, but I would like that security of having an out-and-out striker."

Meanwhile, to assist the potential new centre-forward, Arsenal have been linked with moves for the likes of Pedro Neto – who's been starring for Wolves this season. In an interesting development, there's now another attacking star attracting Arsenal's interest, and he could cost under £15 million.

Kerem Akturkoglu – transfer news

Galatasaray star Kerem Akturkoglu, who lead the Turkish Super Lig for assists last season, has been called an "assist king" by Sabah, and it is believed that Arsenal have sent officials to that part of Europe as they run the rule over his performances. Sharing some Akturkoglu transfer news, Foto Mac claim he is attracting interest from the Gunners, as well as both West Ham and Tottenham.

The 24-year-old has continued his fine form so far this campaign, scoring three goals and assisting four others in the Super Lig alone, so it's clear as to why Arsenal are monitoring developments where the left-winger is concerned. Akturkoglu, if he continues his excellent displays abroad, may well come in as a brilliant alternative to Martinelli on that side. Man United know all about his quality, as the player scored during Galatasaray's shock 3-2 win at Old Trafford recently.

MatériaMais Notícias

O meia Lucas Lourenço foi titular pela primeira vez no profissional do Santos na vitória contra o Sport, por 4 a 2, no sábado, na Vila Belmiro, pela 23ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. Ele esteve em campo durante o primeiro tempo e foi substituído no intervalo pelo atacante Soteldo.

No profissional há dois meses, Lucas agradeceu a oportunidade ao técnico Cuca e afirmou que espera mais chances para ajudar o Santos.

– Fico feliz com essa oportunidade e espero poder repetir essas atuações. Agradeço ao Cuca e aos meus companheiros pela confiança e pela moral dentro de campo. Quero ajudar sempre – comentou Lucas Lourenço.

RelacionadasFora de CampoSandro Meira Ricci aponta erro em pênalti marcado para o Santos contra o Sport: ‘Não marcaria’Fora de Campo29/11/2020SantosSantos se reunirá com agente de Bruno Marques para discutir renovaçãoSantos29/11/2020VídeoVÍDEO: Soteldo fala sobre homenagem para MaradonaVídeo28/11/2020

O atleta ainda elogiou o poder de reação do Santos no segundo tempo. Após sofrer o empate antes da primeira etapa, o Peixe conseguiu marcar mais dois gols e manter a diferença de cinco pontos para o líder Atlético-MG.

– Resultado importante, ainda mais da maneira que foi. Mostramos poder de reação e conseguimos três pontos importantes, que nos deixam colado no topo da tabela. Manter os pés no chão, trabalhar e buscar a melhora a cada dia – falou o meia.

O Santos se reapresenta nesta segunda-feira, de olho no duelo contra a LDU, na terça, na Vila Belmiro, às 19h15, pelo jogo de volta da Copa Libertadores. Um empate e até uma derrota de 1 a 0 classificam o Alvinegro.

Crawley, the 20-year-old right-hander, hit a career-best 168 in a total of 436 as Kent posted a first innings lead of 250

ECB Reporters Network19-Sep-20181:48

Warwickshire deal Sussex’s promotion hopes a blow

ScorecardKent opener Zak Crawley hit a fluent maiden first-class century to bolster his side’s promotion hopes and leave them in total command of their Specsavers County Championship clash with Division Two basement side Glamorgan.Crawley, the 20-year-old right-hander, hit a career-best 168 in a total of 436 as Kent posted a first innings lead of 250 before leaving the visitors to bat out the final hour of day two.The visitors lost both openers Nick Selman and Stephen Cook, caught in the slips off Darren Stevens’ away-swingers within six overs. Kiran Carlson toe-ended a Joe Denly long-hop onto off stump and, in the final over of the day, night watchman Kieran Bull, fended one from Matt Henry to first slip.Wobbling on 33 for 4 at the close, Glamorgan will need a further 217 to make Kent bat again, but the day had belonged to Crawley.In only his 20th first-class appearance Crawley, who honed his batting on ‘The Head’, the 1st XI ground at Tonbridge School – the alma mater of Colin Cowdrey and, more latterly, Ed Smith, England’s national selector – Crawley played a four-hour innings crammed with top-handed cover drives that would have delighted Lord Cowdrey himself.”It feels very good to be stood here tonight with a first hundred to my name,” he said. “I’ve been waiting a while for it and have got out in the 90s a couple of times along the way, so to get over the line today was nice, but I was even more pleased to kick on afterwards.”I’m not usually one for getting nervous in the 90s because I always believed 99 was as good as a hundred, but I’ll admit I was nervous today. A couple of old memories started creeping in about getting out on 93 and 96 before, but once I got the all important single I was fine.Batting in tandem with Sam Billings, Crawley helped add 132 in 29 overs for the sixth wicket as Kent set about firstly reaching Glamorgan’s first innings of 186 and building a game-defining lead thereafter.Resuming on their overnight score of 93 for 2, Kent suffered their first loss in the eighth over when Harry Podmore, their night watchman, fell for 2 – the second of four Kent players to be caught behind when leg glancing. Heino Kuhn fell in similar fashion soon after, flicking airily against Ruaidhri Smith to be caught by Cooke.Crawley reached the 90s with a hooked six off Smith and went on to post his maiden ton in a shade over three hours, having hit 15 boundaries and faced 141 balls.Daniel Bell-Drummond went soon after, pushing half forward with low hands, the England Lions batsman gloved a catch to second slip to send Kent into lunch with a slender lead of four runs.The hosts pressed on after the resumption as Crawley plundered 24 boundaries, while Billings recorded his second half-century of a run-parched summer from 74 balls and with six fours.It took a very good delivery from Bull to finally dislodge Crawley, the only casualty of the mid-session, after 304 minutes at the crease. Prodding forward to his 237th ball, Crawley was deceived by the off-spinner’s flight and dip and a delivery that turned through the gate to clip middle stump.A short, sharp shower rushed the players off for an early tea just before 3pm, after which, Ollie Robinson fell for 17 on his home debut, once again caught down the leg side when glancing.Having battled away for three hours in posting 85 for his highest score since his last championship century against Gloucestershire in Bristol in August 2016, Billings fell to the first ball of a new spell from Michael Hogan. Pushed onto the back-foot by a ‘hit-the-deck’ delivery, the Kent captain was powerless to stop a shooting Hogan off-cutter from plucking out middle stump.Having past the career milestone of 15,000 first-class runs, Stevens perished for 30 when driving a Jeremy Lawlor away-swinger to extra cover, leaving Grant Stewart and Matt Henry to take the home score beyond 400.Having scored only two batting bonus points in their six previous home games, Kent notched five and a maximum eight bonus points in a match for the first time in 2018 before Henry holed out for 31 to leave Glamorgan to bat the remaining 14 overs of the day.

India had their collective best day of the Test series despite the rare instance of Virat Kohli failing to convert a half-century and Ajinkya Rahane falling in the 80s

The Report by Sidharth Monga18-Aug-2018India had their collective best day of the Test series despite the rare instance of Virat Kohli failing to convert a half-century and Ajinkya Rahane falling in the 80s. Asked to bat in the most even bat-ball contest of the series, India showed all-round improvement: the openers added 60, India rediscovered some of their back-foot batting, and then Kohli and Rahane put on India’s highest partnership in the country since the 2002 tour, debutant Rishabh Pant got off to a bright start, and India ended up with a comfortable 307 on the board with four wickets in hand.England were left debating the wisdom of two decisions: picking Adil Rashid over Sam Curran, and then deciding to bowl. There can be two reasons for the latter decision. Either England feel the only life in this pitch was to be had in the first session or they got ahead of themselves and expected India to roll over. The second seemed likelier given the second new ball zipped around towards the end of the day’s play, but India had scored plenty by then. England’s fielding continued to let them down, taking their drops count this series to 10.That India were not going to roll over was evident from how well the openers had lifted their game. This was the third opening combination in three Tests, but KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan had done some work on their batting. It helped them that England bowled shorter than they did in the first two Tests, which meant the ones that moved actually beat the bat as opposed to taking the edge. India also left alone more balls in the first 15 overs – 38 – than in any of their previous innings. They also used the crease more, happy to cut and work the ball of the back foot. Dhawan provided the impetus, punishing every small error, hitting seven fours in his 35.By the time Chris Woakes got rid of the openers in quick succession, they had added more than any Indian opening partnership outside Asia and the West Indies since December 2013. Cheteshwar Pujara then put India in a further spot of bother with an extremely uncharacteristic dismissal: a hook in the last over before lunch after having sworn off that shot six years previously. Good bowling and tough conditions perhaps force you to look for other scoring options.At 82 for 3, it seemed it was all down to Kohli again to rescue India’s day, but this time he had company. Rahane was finding form. Kohli started watchfully, respecting Stuart Broad who had got him out last. Rahane took the responsibility to do the early running, benefiting from the lack of extravagant movement. The sun came out, the movement began to die, a rusty Ben Stokes bowled too short, and for the first time since the first day of the series, batting seemed like an occupation where you needed to make big mistakes to fail.Kohli and Rahane did make mistakes early on, but small ones. Kohli nearly got out first ball, playing a defensive push to a wide ball. Rahane edged a couple of short-of-a-length deliveries, but they didn’t go to hand. Once the movement died, and when England went to Rashid, these two were set: Rahane 27 off 38, and Kohli 23 off 47. Rashid put on an absolute buffet of five overs for 29 runs, failing to help James Anderson, who was bowling well at the other end, and by the time he was done India were 170 for 3.Both soon brought up their fifties, and now was Anderson’s turn to make a mistake. On 57, Rahane unleashed a full-blooded cut shot off Woakes, high over point, where Anderson went airborne and spilled a tough chance. Dropped catch No. 9. This heralded a period where Kohli and Rahane matched each other shot for shot, putting on an exhibition of drives and cuts. This was a period where India wanted to dominate, and Rahane took the lead. Before he edged a drive on the up, he had played attacking shots to each of the previous six deliveries. This was a time to attack: the pitch had settled down, the new ball was 13 overs away, just that this ball seamed a touch to take the fatal edge.This wicket just reinforced Kohli’s resolve. It was almost unthinkable Kohli would repeat the mistake. Forget Johannesburg, and six of his last first-innings half-centuries ended between 149 and 243. Rashid redeemed himself with Kohli’s wicket only for the second time in his 90s. Kohli saw a full ball, bowled with a scrambled seam as usual, went for the big drive, but got an edge to slip.Pant then announced himself with a six second ball, having picked Rashid’s wrong’un and lofting it back over his head. The first recorded Indian to get off the mark in Tests with a six, Pant showed composure after that, clipping nicely off his pads after a string of plays and misses outside off. He ended the day unbeaten on 22 off 32.At the other end, England were left frustrated by their fielding again. It was about six overs before the eventual end of day’s play when Broad produced an edge from Hardik Pandya. The lob was dropped at third slip by Keaton Jennings. Even though Anderson got Pandya with the last ball of the day’s play – Pandya added only four after the drop – England had lost an opportunity to cause damage with the new ball in the dying moments of the day.

Chelsea are potentially willing to pay around £70 million for a club's "lightning" star striker, but it isn't Ivan Toney.

Will Chelsea sign anyone in January?

As widely reported, Mauricio Pochettino's side are weighing up the possibility of signing a centre-forward for 2024 amid a lack of confidence in their current attacking options. Despite spending nearly £400 million in the summer on an array of new signings, Chelsea didn't bring in a world-class striker to lead the line. Nicolas Jackson has arguably struggled since joining from Villarreal, while Armando Broja is unlikely to notch Chelsea a considerable amount goals in the same vain as some of world football's best.

As a result, it has been reported that the likes of Brentford star Ivan Toney and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen are being considered as marquee options to strengthen Pochettino's attacking ranks. A report from TEAMtalk this week even claimed Osimhen is seen as a very realistic potential signing for Chelsea, coming after Pochettino expressly request the club bring in a new forward.

Speaking earlier this year in April, pundit Michael Owen urged the club to bring in an experienced goal-getter.

“The most incredible thing is that you can spend £500-something million or whatever they've spent in recent times and the most important position on the pitch they've not even touched,” Owen said.

“That they can get all these great players and spend a fortune and the one position really that you to be investing the most money in and making sure is an absolute perfect fit is a centre forward.

“I think they've scored 29 goals in 29 games this season. It's unbelievably poor. I know Lukaku will be coming back at the end of the season, it'll be interesting to see what happens there, but my suggestion would be that they're going to have to go into the transfer market one more time."

Dusan Vlahovic news

Now, according to Italian news outlet Tutto Juve and journalist Massimo Pavan, sharing the latest Dusan Vlahovic transfer update, it is believed that Chelsea may now be "willing" to fork out around £70 million to sign the Juventus striker. That is the Serbia international's market value, but the same report says his club are set to demand much more than this. Vlahovic's price tag may even come in at around £90m.

The former Fiorentina star has scored four goals and registered an assist in six Serie A matches alone this season; rediscovering his past form at La Viola. Vlahovic, to further highlight his quality, has also been praised by former Man City defender Micah Richards – who called him a "lightning" striker.

Finishing

Long shots

Direct free-kicks

“I have watched him a couple of times now,” Richards told BBC Radio Five Live (via The Independent) in 2021.

“He is lightning. It’s ridiculous. He has got 16 in 18 this season. His left foot is like a wand. I am telling you now, he is everything, he is everything you need.”

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is seemingly under pressure at Old Trafford, and one update has shared details over a potential sacking.

Update on Erik ten Hag’s future

It has been a season to forget so far for the Red Devils and Ten Hag, with back-to-back 3-0 defeats at Old Trafford to Manchester City and Newcastle United in the space of four days. The two defeats have meant that Man Utd have now lost eight of their first 15 matches in all competitions this season, something they have suffered for the first time since 1962/63. Ten Hag’s position as manager has been a hot topic of conversation, although recent reports have claimed that the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe view Ten Hag's position as safe for the time being.

Meanwhile, it has been claimed that some of the Man Utd players fear Ten Hag’s approach is affecting team morale, with his no-nonsense style resulting in clashes with players such as Jadon Sancho in recent months. Another update involving the manager has emerged, one on what the club would need to pay if they part ways with the Dutchman. Football Insider reporter Sean Fisher shared an update on Wednesday prior to the EFL Cup defeat to Newcastle United, stating it would cost the club more than £15m to part ways with Ten Hag.

“If the United hierarchy chooses to sack Ten Hag this season, Football Insider understands that it would cost the club a compensation payout of over £15million. His contract at United runs until 2025 with an option to extend for a further year, and sacking Ten Hag would require the Glazers to pay him his guaranteed salary for the length of his contract.

He added: "United would also have to cough up significant compensation fees to dismiss his backroom staff."

Ten Hag’s record at Man Utd

The 53-year-old arrived at Old Trafford last summer and enjoyed a solid first season with the club, finishing in the top four, winning the EFL Cup and reaching the final of the FA Cup. However, it has been a season to forget so far during the current campaign, and defeat to Fulham could see them slip into the bottom half of the Premier League this weekend.

Ten Hag's record at Man Utd

Games

77

Wins

49

Draws

8

Defeats

20

Overall, though, as can be seen, Ten Hag’s record isn’t disastrous by any stretch, averaging over two points per game with the Red Devils and one victory shy of hitting 50. However, the club's recent form could be a worry for Man Utd officials, and if things don’t improve prior to the New Year, they may feel their hand could be forced into making a change and subsequently paying out Ten Hag the £15m+ fee.

West Ham United boast a rich history of developing the next big stars through their academy.

In the professional football setting, there is something special about a club that places its faith in the next generation, plucking them out of the academy and throwing them straight into the deep end of first-team football.

It's a strategy that the Hammers have executed to perfection having seen Declan Rice join Arsenal for £105m in the summer, but it isn't the only time that the club have pocketed millions from a former youth prodigy.

In the 1990s, West Ham had arguably the most prolific academy set up in the country, unearthing a whole host of generational English talents into the first-team, including Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe.

Defoe, in particular, is someone David Moyes would love to count upon in the present day having watched him terrorise Premier League defences for nearly two decades with his clinical finishing.

Jermaine Defoe's goal record at West Ham

Defoe was snapped up from London rivals Charlton Athletic at the age of 16 in 1999 and despite his tender age, it didn't take him long to make himself a hero at Upton Park.

He made his debut in a League Cup tie at Walsall in September 2000, aged 17, and his performance in that match foreshadowed the rest of his illustrious career in the top flight.

The youngster, who starred in the under-19 team that won the Premier Academy League title in 1999–2000 and scored twice against Arsenal in the play-off final, would bag on his senior debut for the club in a 1-0 win against the Saddlers.

At the end of the 2000/01 campaign, he was handed his league debut by then-manager Glenn Roeder, replacing Svetoslav Todorov, and would go on to score 40 goals in 104 appearances for the Hammers before joining Tottenham Hotspur for £7m in 2004.

As the saying goes, the rest is history, with Defoe becoming one of the greatest strikers to ever grace the Premier League, scoring 163 goals in 496 appearances, which places him in ninth in the all-time rankings.

After graduating from West Ham's academy, Defoe's legacy of goalscoring has only inspired the next generation of strikers in east London, and one of those is current academy starlet, Callum Marshall.

Callum Marshall's goal record in 23/24

Marshall is an 18-year-old striker who has taken the Premier League 2 by storm this term, plundering a whopping 13 goals in eight appearances, including a brace in a sensational 4-0 victory over Liverpool.

Lauded as "incredible" by journalist Antonio Mango for those staggering scoring exploits, the teenager tops the scoring charts in the competition, above the likes of Chelsea's Ronnie Stutter and Manchester United's Joe Hugill.

The youngster, who won the PL2 Player of the Month award for September, is showcasing attributes that were so readily associated with Defoe throughout his career, having also netted three times in three EFL trophy outings this term – taking his total tally to 16 for the season.

He constantly lurks on the shoulder of the last defender, his sharp movement in behind is difficult to stop and his finishing this term has become unstoppable.

Perhaps more impressive, he's currently outscoring first-team star Jarrod Bowen, who – like Marshall – is currently in the form of his life.

In all competitions this term, Bowen has scored nine goals in 16 appearances, which is an impressive record in itself, but it doesn't come close to eclipsing the talented teenager's exploits.

If Marshall continues to dazzle defences in the under-21s, the opportunity to become a first-team regular, as Defoe did, will look increasingly likely.

MatériaMais Notícias

Alessandro Pires Barcellos é o novo presidente do Inter. Em eleição realizada nesta terça-feira, o candidato venceu José Aquino Flôres de Camargo e vai tomar gerir o Colorado entre 2021/2023.

De acordo com as informações divulgadas pelo Inter, 29 mil sócios votaram. Barcellos obteve 56,8% dos votos. O segundo colocado ficou com 33,05%.

> TABELA BRASILEIRÃO

Agora, Barcellos terá a missão de recolocar o Internacional nos trilhos. Uma das primeiras missões será decidir se Abel Braga fica ou continua. Outro tema importante é a situação de Rodrigo Caetano como executivo de futebol.

Resultado final:

. Presidente
Alessandro Barcellos – Chapa 05: 16.522 votos (56,8% dos votos)
José Aquino – Chapa 03: 9.600 votos (33,05% dos votos)
Brancos: 565 votos (1,9% dos votos)
Nulos: 2.354 votos (8,1% dos votos)

. Conselho de Gestão do Inter:

Presidente: Alessandro Pires Barcellos
1º vice-presidente: Dannie Dubin
2º vice-presidente: Arthur Caleffi
3º vice-presidente: Luiz Carlos Ribeiro Bortolini
4º vice-presidente: Humberto Cesar Busnello

. Conselho Deliberativo

Chapa 01 – Juntos Somos Maiores – 5572 votos
Chapa 03 – Reage Inter – 3.408 votos
Chapa 04 – O Povo do Clube – 6.264 votos
Chapa 05 – O Inter Pode Mais – 4.687 votos

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West Ham United's record-breaking 17-match unbeaten run in Europe came to a disappointing end against Olympiacos after crashing to a 2-1 defeat on Thursday night.

The Hammers fell behind inside 33 minutes as Konstantinos Fortunis opened the scoring and their lead was doubled when Angelo Ogbonna sliced the ball into the back of his own net just before half-time.

After a disastrous first half, which was described by The Athletic's Roshane Thomas as "poor", the visitors gave themselves a mountain to climb in the second and although a thunderous strike from substitute Lucas Paqueta in the 87th minute restored hope of a comeback, it was one that proved too steep.

David Moyes was ultimately punished for making seven changes to side the side that was thrashed 4-1 by Aston Villa on Sunday but given the hectic fixture schedule, he was almost forced into giving his fringe players a run-out, and they failed to make a positive impression.

One of those who put in a villainous display on the night was that man Ogbonna.

Angelo Ogbonna's performance against Olympiacos

Ogbonna endured a nightmare return to the starting XI on Thursday night as a comical own goal compounded a miserable performance all round for the Hammers.

The Italian had the chance to give Moyes food for thought ahead of their upcoming fixtures by putting in a stellar display. Instead, the 35-year-old did the opposite, perhaps showing his age in what was a shambolic performance.

Aside from being near faultless in possession by successfully completing 94% of his attempted passes, he deeply let West Ham down in a defensive capacity and was constantly caught out of position.

According to Sofascore, the former Juventus defender won none of his two ground duels, was dribbled past once and made zero tackles while also showing his ill-discipline by picking up a yellow card for his troubles.

If the stage was set for Ogbonna to put in a positive display, he crumbled under the pressure and has now given himself the difficult task of breaking back into the Scotsman's plans.

While the Italian was the ultimate villain from a defensive point of view, Pablo Fornals hardly set the world alight in an attacking sense, with the fleet-footed Spaniard not having his best game in claret and blue.

Pablo Fornals statistics against Olympiacos

Fornals has only started one game for West Ham in the Premier League this season – the opening day draw against Bournemouth – and on the evidence of his performance against Olympiacos, it is clear to see why Moyes prefers to play the talented Paqueta over him on the left flank.

The aforementioned Thomas noted that his performance was "disappointing" and that couldn't be any closer to the truth, with the 27-year-old showing he's a liability both in and out of possession, notably losing the ball nine times and enjoying a pass accuracy of just 72% – while also winning just one of his four total duels.

Such shortcomings in possession could well have been costly for the visitors and it wasn't a surprise to see West Ham rediscover their attacking vigour when he was hooked by his manager in the 57th minute and replaced by the eventual goalscorer, Paqueta.

That dismal showing saw Fornals ultimately record a meagre match rating of just 6.5, as per Sofascore, with that same as the lacklustre Ogbonna achieved from his defensive berth.

Having put in a lightweight and lethargic performance that cost the Hammers dearly, the Spaniard can count himself lucky that Moyes' squad is thin on the ground, giving him the opportunity to potentially redeem himself in the home fixture against the Greek outfit.

Ipswich Town haven't looked back since clinching promotion to the Championship, back in the second tier for the first time since the 2018/19 season under Kieran McKenna's expert guidance.

The Suffolk-based outfit are riding high in the second automatic promotion spot at this current point in time, winning a remarkable 12 matches from 16 played with the style of football on show wowing plaudits.

The Tractor Boys fans were treated to another action-packed contest at Portman Road last weekend, Ipswich winning the match 3-2 against Swansea City to go level with top-of-the-table Leicester City who succumbed to a second successive defeat.

Regardless of such an amazing return to Championship life, Ipswich will be looking at the upcoming transfer window as an opportunity to bolster and add high-quality recruits to the current galvanised group.

Here's what a predicted Ipswich Town XI could look like after the January transfer window is complete…

1 GK – Steven Benda

The Tractor Boys have certainly leaked a few goals this season, especially in their last few Championship encounters. McKenna's men have conceded eight goals in their last four second-tier matches, with the goalscoring exploits of the forward players bailing out the defenders and goalkeeper.

Steven Benda should be one man they look to strengthen the squad with. Indeed, he could be the answer on a loan deal this January in net, the current Fulham man usurping both Václav Hladký and Christian Walton for the starting spot in goal if a deal came to fruition. A deal could be viable with the stopper having failed to play a single minute in the league this term.

2 RB – Harry Clarke

Formerly an Arsenal youth product, Clarke has been competent for the Tractor Boys since the club have made the step up to the Championship.

Averaging a 6.95 Sofascore rating from 11 Championship games to date – recovering 4.5 balls on average per 90 minutes from the channels – McKenna will likely stick by the 22-year-old in the starting line-up for the time being.

3 CB – Eiran Cashin

Currently at Derby County, Cashin has been rumoured with a switch to Suffolk previously and this interest could be follow up on come January.

Coming through the ranks at the Rams from the youth academy, the 22-year-old defender has excelled in recent League One contests for Paul Warne's men.

Winning seven of his 11 ground duels in Derby's last 3-0 win against Barnsley, Cashin would slot in nicely to the set-up at Ipswich with his ability on the ball too – accurately placing eight long balls forward versus the Tykes per Sofascore.

4 CB – Luke Woolfenden

Amassing an average 7.0 rating via Sofascore to date in the second tier, Ipswich's imposing 6 foot 4 battler in Woolfenden has only missed one match all season under McKenna.

It's why his defensive partner is more likely to be sacrificed for new blood at the back, Woolfenden one of the first names on the team sheet in Suffolk.

5 LB – Leif Davis

Leaving Leeds United behind last year for a move to Ipswich Town, the exciting left-back option for the Tractor Boys has excelled ever since relocating down South.

This season, Davis has taken to the Championship like a duck to water – creating five big chances per 90 over his 15 appearances so far, a constant thorn in the left-hand side of opponents facing Ipswich.

6 CDM – Sam Morsy

Now 32 years of age, Morsy offers Ipswich an experienced leader in the middle of the park with McKenna's youthful lineup needing that authoritative figure.

Tireless in his efforts to help his team spring a counterattack – averaging 75.8 touches per game this season and always constantly involved – the Egyptian midfielder has his starting spot set in stone for now.

7 CDM – Massimo Luongo

Making an appearance in every single Ipswich game this campaign whether it be from the get-go or substituted on, this former Tottenham midfielder – like his partner in holding midfield – is crucial to how Ipswich operate.

Falling below his usual standards recently – which saw summer signing Jack Taylor replace Luongo for the home win against Swansea and score a wonder strike in the process – Ipswich's number 25 will hope he can stake a claim to slot back into the starting lineup in the matches to come.

8 RM – Jesurun Rak-Sakyi

A failed transfer target this summer – Crystal Palace pulling the plug on a loan deal with the Tractor Boys last second – the deal to sign Jesurun Rak-Sakyi on a short-term loan deal could be back on this January.

Rak-Sakyi would fit straight into the lineup, an attacker designed to play under McKenna's high-energy style of setting his teams up.

A skilful and silky winger with showboating not out of the ordinary, the Eagles youngster also has a directness to his game that saw him score goals by the bucket load on loan at Charlton Athletic last campaign – netting 15 goals from 49 appearances for the Addicks in his temporary season-long stay.

9 CAM – Conor Chaplin

Playing just behind the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation usually preferred by McKenna, Chaplin has established himself as a Championship goalscoring threat immediately after transitioning to the demands of the second tier.

Only netting four times for Barnsley at this level during the 2020-21 campaign, the 26-year-old has already eclipsed that goal total this season for his current employers – netting six in 16 matches so far, four goals off top scorer Sammie Szmodics in the golden boot race.

10 LM – Nathan Broadhead

Predominantly playing as a striker through his early career, Broadhead's time at Ipswich has seen him routinely switch to a left winger role to devastating effect.

The former Everton youth product has 14 goals in total for the Suffolk-based club, including six this season which draws him level with Chaplin as Ipswich's top scorer in the second tier.

Twisting and turning defenders for the fun with the potency to back up such trickery in front of goal, Broadhead will be retained in this starting lineup regardless of transfer incomings.