Ipswich Town had a fairly good season last year and things really picked up when Kieran McKenna came in as manager. 

However, despite a strong finish to the season, the Tractorboys fell short of the play-offs and finished the year sat 11th in the table.

Nevertheless, McKenna is keen to strengthen his side this summer in the hope that they can push on and break into the top six to battle it out for promotion.

With that in mind, here we take a look at some of the latest news at Portman Road.

Tyreeq Bakinson

Tyreeq Bakinson spent the second half of the season on loan at Ipswich last season and made 17 appearances in that time, scoring two goals.

Following the end of his loan deal at the end of the season, the 23-year-old returned to his parent club Bristol City although it seems apparent that he is not in Nigel Pearson's plans there going forward.

The loan deal from last season gave Ipswich an option to buy which has carried over going into pre-season.

McKenna recently updated the East Anglian Daily Times on his stance of the player claiming that no discussions have taken place yet but he has not ruled out the possibility of a deal.

If Ipswich are going to make a move, they need to be doing so sooner rather than later with pre-seasons coming soon.

However, there's a fair option that the club could be eager to re-negotiate his fee before making a move.

 

 

Vaclav Hladky

The goalkeeper joined Ipswich last summer and was first choice at the start of the season.

However, he later lost his place with Christian Walton being preferred over him.

As a result, Hladky made just 12 appearances for the Tractorboys last season keeping three clean sheets in that time.

It has been reported that Aberdeen are interested in gaining his services for next season as well as a number of unnamed clubs.

However, McKenna recently provided an update that he is an important part of the club and there is no update on that front.

According to the East Anglian Daily Times, Town's asking price is over £100,000 so it's yet to be seen whether a club will make that move.

However, with the 31-year-old's contract at the club running until 2024, they are under no pressure to sell this summer and given the departure of Thomas Holy, if they did they would then find themselves quickly needing to recruit a new goalkeeper.

Tyreece Simpson

After Simpson spent the first half of last season on loan with Swindon Town, he was recalled by the Tractorboys in the second half of the season.

The 20-year-old made just seven appearances for McKenna's side but had an impressive spell with Swindon as he scored 11 goals and provided three assists in 30 appearances.

It has been reported that the youngster wants to leave Portman Road this season and alongside that there has been interest from Huddersfield Town, Luton Town and Middlesbrough in the player according to The Telegraph.

The report suggests that the asking fee could be £250,000 which seems reasonable and could therefore mean we see him depart the club soon.