HIGHLIGHTS
Ipswich Town’s Elkan Baggott has yet to establish himself in the first team and has limited game time.
Baggott was hoping for a loan move to get more consistent playing time, but no deal was completed before the transfer window closed.
The signing of Axel Tuanzebe further reduces Baggott’s chances of playing, pushing him further down the pecking order.
Every transfer window is inevitably full of potential deals that ultimately fail to materialise for one reason or another.
With so many clubs looking at a variety of targets to fill one particular role within their squad, that means certain individuals may miss out on a move away from their current clubs before the window closes.
That, of course, could also be down to the fact that their own teams are unwilling to allow them to move on in the circumstances.
Often, when a deal does fall through, it can be the disappointment of the club missing out on a signing that is focused on, but it should not be forgotten that failed moves may also be a cause of some considerable frustration for the players at the centre of those deals that do not go through.
Following the conclusion of this summer’s transfer window, it could be argued that one player in particular who finds himself in that sort of situation, is Ipswich Town’s Elkan Baggott.
What is Elkan Baggott’s situation at Ipswich Town?
Having come through the youth ranks at Ipswich, Baggott has been on the fringes of the first-team since 2020, but is yet to make himself a consistent presence for the Tractors Boys senior side.
So far, the 20-year-old has made just five first-team appearances for the club across all competitions.
That saw him loaned out elsewhere in the Football League last season, making 29 appearances for League Two’s Gillingham, before being recalled in January, and loaned to Cheltenham Town in League One for the second half of the season.
However, the Indonesia international could only manage a single appearance for the Robins during his spell at Whaddon Road.
As a result, you could understand it if Baggott had been eyeing another loan move late in this summer’s transfer window in search of regular game time, especially given he hasn’t even made the bench for any of Ipswich’s five Championship games so far this season.
However, despite suggestions on deadline day that the centre back was close to a loan move to League One club Blackpool, no deal would materialise, and Baggott now appears destined to stay at Portman Road until at least the January transfer window.
That might have been perceived as a blow for Baggott given his likely desire for playing time and the fact that it hasn’t exactly been forthcoming thus far at Ipswich. What has happened since then is also unlikely to have made matters better for him.
Given his likely desire for game time, and the fact that has not exactly been forthcoming so far at Ipswich, that may well have been seen as a blow for Baggott, and what has happened since then, is unlikely to have improved things for him either.
Will Axel Tuanzebe play instead of Elkan Baggott?
Despite the transfer window closing, Ipswich were not done with their summer business by the 1st September.
On Friday, it was announced that Ipswich had completed the signing of Axel Tuanzebe on a free transfer, following his departure from Manchester United at the end of his contract earlier this summer.
As well as his time with Manchester United, where he made 37 appearances in all competitions, Tuanzebe has also previously had loan spells in the Championship with Stoke and Aston Villa, helping the latter win promotion to the Premier League, where he also had a temporary stint with them.
The addition of the 25-year-old, means that the Tractor Boys have therefore now further added to the central defensive options available to manager Kieran McKenna, with a player who has more experience and proven ability, at this high level, than Baggott does.
Consequently, bringing Tuanzebe to Portman Road is something that, given what he offers, will likely push Baggott further down the pecking order for the Tractor Boys, making game time even harder for him to come by.
But with Baggott still contracted to Ipswich and the transfer market now closed, there is no get out for him any time soon, meaning you feel he is now going to have to wait patiently for any potential opportunity, while wondering how different things might have been, had a loan move actually happened before the market closed.
