The 2016/17 Championship season is drawing ever nearer and teams are starting to get their transfer deals done so that they are well prepared for the opening day of the season.

Ipswich will feel they are just a few signings away from a team that can realistically challenge for promotion having come so close over the past couple of seasons with a 6th place finish in 2014/15 and narrowly missing out on the play-offs last season.

The Tractor Boys manager Mick McCarthy will know the areas he needs to improve on and his decision to sign defensive duo Kevin Foley from Wolves and Adam Webster from Portsmouth shows he wanted to strengthen the depth of the back-line.

However, there are still positions that could do with investment.

Football League World writer Steve Day takes a look at which three Premier League players McCarthy should look to sign for his side ahead of the new season.

Alex McCarthy

mccarthy621

The former Reading goalkeeper has seemingly been around for years. However, he is only 26-years-old and is still yet to nail down a regular first team spot at a top flight team despite showing huge potential as a youngster.

McCarthy was highly-rated as a teenager and made three appearances for England Under 21s. He has spent time out on loan at a number of clubs across the Football League with one of those clubs being Ipswich.

Current Ipswich keepers Dean Gerken and Bartosz Bialkowski are solid keepers but they are not the players needed to take the club to the next level. McCarthy is at an age when he needs to settle and establish himself at a club to push on with his career. Portman Road could be the exact place to do that.

Fraizer Campbell

Fraizer Campbell

One area that Ipswich need to improve on is up front. Daryl Murphy exceeded expectations with his 27 league goals two seasons ago but that appears to be a flash in the pan as he returned to scoring just 10 league goals last season.

Campbell has been out of favour at Selhurst Park and after he declared his desire to stay and fight for a first team place last season it might now be time for Campbell to accept that he will not find regular first team football in the Premier League.

The former Manchester United youth player has a proven track record at Championship level having scored 7 goals in just 12 appearances for Cardiff City during their title-winning season that saw them promoted to the Premier League.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

loftus cheek

This season could be a pivotal one for Loftus-Cheek. He is only 20-years-old and has been tipped to enjoy a big future in football for a number of years now but regular first team football has not found him yet and with the pressure on incoming Chelsea manager Antonio Conte to win trophies and rejuvenate a stale squad, it is unlikely youth will be relied upon this season at Stamford Bridge.

It would sensible to suggest that Loftus-Cheek will be loaned out and there could be a number of Premier League teams in for him but he would undoubtedly benefit more from a spell playing regularly in the Championship so that he gets used to the rigours of professional football.

Ipswich are not exactly plush with options in the centre of midfield. The likes of Cole Skuse, Jonathan Douglas, Teddy Bishop, and Luke Hyam are not names that teams looking to earn promotion would hunt down to sign so it should be an area McCarthy looks to strengthen. It would take a big bid to lure Loftus-Cheek to Portman Road but if he came then that could be a potential game-changer.

What do you think of the players listed? Are they signings McCarthy should look to make? Or are there other players in the Premier League that should be signed instead? Let us know your thoughts below.