ipswich town When Manchester City visit Portman Road on Sunday, there will be another reminder of the daunting task they face in the second half of the season.

The Tractor Boys are currently in the relegation zone, but within striking distance of Wolves, a clash with Pep Guardiola’s side has done little to bolster their bid to avoid relegation.

Kieran McKennaThe Championship were swept away with relative ease as the Championship won 6-0, with the scoreline enough to send Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland into the net with 30 minutes remaining. Germany comes off the field.

However, the January transfer window is open, meaning they have the opportunity to add more quality to the squad to avoid relegation straight back to the Championship at the first request.

Ipswich have made two new signings Premier League experience. Ben Godfrey joins on loan from Atalanta, while Jaden Philodin signs permanently from Aston Villa.

However, Tractor Boys are now reportedly interested in signing a player who will play in the Championship for the 2023/24 season.

Ipswich Town interested in Ligue 1 powerhouse

According to French media L’EquipeIpswich are one of a number of clubs interested in signing Rennes midfielder Glen Kamara this month.

The report claims that the former Arsenal academy graduate could be linked with a return to England, having only joined the Ligue 1 club from Leeds United last summer.

Several teams are said to be vying for his services during the second half of the season, including Ipswich Town, Middlesbrough, Southampton and Turkish side Trabzonspor.

The outlet added that Trabzonspor are currently the most active team in the competition as they look to sign him ahead of interested sides in England.

It suggests Ipswich will face plenty of competition to sign the Finland international before the end of the January transfer window, meaning they may have to move quickly if they want to bring him to Portman Road.

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However, “L’Equipe” did not reveal whether Rennes is willing to send this team. £30,000 per week Gem is out on loan or if they are willing to sell him permanently, while there was no mention of any potential transfer fee for the former Rangers star.

Whether on loan or on a permanent transfer, Ipswich Town’s interest in Kamara in the January transfer window is bad news for club captain Sam Morsy in his position.

Sam Morsy’s performance this season

Ipswich’s meteoric rise from the First Division to the Premier League and successive promotions has seen several players jump from the third tier to the top flight in around 18 months.

This means that several stars who were promoted in the First Division and Championship failed to successfully advance to the Premier League.

Morsi wasn’t a complete disaster in the top flight as he was at least a consistent starter for McKenna – Started 19 of 20 games – instead of being moved to or left on the bench every week.

The Egypt international has achieved 3.2 Tackles and interceptions He tries to provide combat in the midfield every game, but he commits almost as many fouls (1.9) as he averages tackles per game (2.2).

As can be seen from the above table, Morsi failed in most of the physical confrontations in the Premier League and was very prone to mistakes. Four mistakes directly led to the opponent’s shots.

The 33-year-old veteran is often dribbled through midfield and should be worried about newcomers in his position as it could affect his game time.

Why Ipswich should sign Glenn Kamara

Ipswich should try to win Kamara before the window officially closes at the end of next month, as he could serve as an upgrade to Morsi in the middle of the park.

The Finland international may be better suited to Tractor Boys’ needs in midfield as they try to avoid Premier League relegation due to his strength in confrontations and security on the ball.

His former boss at Dundee, Neil McCann, once described the midfielder as “made of iron“His physical statistics at Leeds and Rennes also bear that out as he has won 58% of ground contact He has performed well in Ligue 1 this season and his winning rate in the Championship last season was as high as 58%.

The 29-year-old ace player only Start eight times He completed 91% of his pass attempts in France’s top flight without making any errors leading to an opponent’s shot, but he is attracting attention as a regular in England in the 2023/24 season.

As you can see in the table above, Kamara’s performances at Rennes and Leeds have shown that he is very secure in possession and rarely concedes the ball, while Mossi has committed four this season that directly resulted in a shot on goal error.

This shows that the Finnish maestro can use his technical ability to retain possession for the Blues, thereby providing a higher quality in possession than the Ipswich captain.

Opponent players have also found it difficult to get past Kamara in the midfield. He won 58% of his duels last season and only made 15 dribbles, suggesting that he may also become an upgraded version of Morsi without the ball. .

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Overall, the former Leeds United man is capable of taking over Morsi’s role as a regular starter in midfield both in and out of possession, which is why the club’s interest in him is so important to the Ipswich captain. The bad news is that he may be on the bench for the second half of the season.