Ipswich Town rebuilt their squad by signing 19 new players in the summer of 2021 under Paul Cook.

The Tractor Boys went on to hugely underwhelm to an 11th placed finish, with the Suffolk unable to recover from the painfully inconsistent start that they made to the campaign.

Hayden Coulson was one of those additions, on loan from Middlesbrough, and it was difficult for him to settle, before being recalled and sent out to Peterborough United in the second half of the season.

The 24-year-old gave an insight into his experience at the club when he spoke to his new loan club Aberdeen, quotes sourced from RedTV.

He said: "I enjoyed it and I was excited about the move.

"Obviously that was another club that was ready to progress, they signed a lot of new players and spent a good bit of money.

"It was something stupid, I think I was like the 14th or 15th new player and they were still bringing in players after that so it was a full new turnaround.

"I think from the fans' point of view everyone thought, because on paper it was a top, top team, especially for League One, that it would happen straight away.

"But if you bring in that many players they need time to get together and learn how to play the style of play.

"It was a carnage pre-season type of thing with that many new players in there."

With just one year remaining on Coulson's contract on Teesside and his loan spell in the Scottish Premiership set to last for the whole season, it would appear that his future lies elsewhere and that it is likely that he will be available on a free next summer.

The Verdict

In hindsight, it was a truly bonkers approach from Ipswich last summer, over-stocking their squad with exciting attacking players that seemed to only make things more difficult for Cook in the first few months of the season.

Kieran McKenna has been able to take a firmer grasp of the situation since and will be confident that the Tractor Boys can compete for automatic promotion this time around, after failing to finish in the top six in any of the three seasons since their relegation from the Championship.

Ipswich begin the campaign in hosting Bolton Wanderers on Saturday with Ian Evatt's men hoping to replicate their thumping 5-2 victory in the identical head-to-head last term.