Ipswich Town's Kieran McKenna teases potential squad boost ahead of Liverpool clash after £10m transfer deal
The Ipswich manager spoke to the media ahead of their clash with Liverpool.
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna has teased a potential involvement for their new summer signing Sammie Szmodics this weekend against Liverpool.
Having already brought in several recruits, this week has seen the club head back into the market, completing a deal for Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips on loan as well as agreeing a deal for Napoli midfielder Jens Cajuste. But Szmodics is an exciting signing as the ex-Blackburn Rovers striker was the Championship’s top scorer last season - and netted in their victory against Derby last week.
Signed in a £10m deal, the 28-year-old is raring to go in the Premier League and McKenna hailed the new signing in his press conference ahead of the clash with Liverpool. "He has impressed everybody. Last season was standout in terms of his goalscoring record. Probably more so for me is the way he has improved his game every year. He is a learner, he has worked and looking to improve all the time.
"He has climbed his way through the leagues and he has deserved his opportunity in the Premier League. That matches with OUR squad. I think from a cultural point of view he is a fantastic fit. He has a history with the club, a family who support the club and he is a very good player. In all aspects we are very happy to have him here."
There is a strong chance that Szmodics will be in the squad and the same goes for Phillips who enjoyed a strong pre-season after a difficult year at City. Both could pose a threat for Arne Slot’s side this weekend but there are other players to watch out for including Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson.
McKenna also displayed plenty of positives towards the Liverpool boss, labelling Slot as a ‘top, top manager’ and claiming that they are a ‘fantastic’ side who have had a great pre-season. They will have to be on watch for Mohamed Salah as no player in Premier League history has scored more goals on the opening day with eight, the same as Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney.
And the Reds will hope to avoid what happened two years ago when they last took on a newly-promoted side at 12:30pm on the opening weekend; they drew 2-2 with Fulham inspired by Aleskandr Mitrovic on that occasion which set the tone for a difficult campaign.