We looked at where Paul Lambert’s first five signings at Ipswich Town are now.
It was a disappointing spell in charge of Ipswich Town for Paul Lambert.
Lambert became the first manager to manage both Ipswich and East Anglian rivals Norwich City when he took charge at Portman Road in October 2018, having spent just under three years at Carrow Road between 2009 and 2012, during which time he led the Canaries to back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.
The Scotsman inherited a tough situation when he replaced Paul Hurst in Suffolk with the club sitting bottom of the Championship and while performances did improve following his arrival, he was unable to prevent the Tractor Boys’ relegation to League One.
Lambert remained in charge despite relegation and after making a bright start to life in the third tier, Ipswich’s form declined over the course of the season and they recorded a disappointing 11th-placed finish in the 2019-20 campaign.
The 2020-21 season began in a similar fashion with the Tractor Boys among the early front-runners, but again they were unable to maintain their promotion push and Lambert was sacked in February, just weeks before the takeover by Gamechanger 20 Ltd.
Lambert made a host of signings during his time at Portman Road as he attempted to turn around his side’s fortunes and we looked at where the first five players brought in by the 54-year-old are now.
Callum Elder
Elder became Lambert’s first signing when he joined on loan from Leicester City in January 2019.
It was an incredibly disappointing spell for Elder at Portman Road and he made just five appearances for the Tractor Boys, frequently being left out of the matchday squad altogether.
Elder made the move to Hull City in August 2019 and he enjoyed a successful four-year stint at the MKM Stadium, helping the Tigers to the League One title in the 2020-21 season.
The 28-year-old joined Derby County this summer and he will be hoping to achieve his third career promotion from League One.
Will Keane
Keane arrived at Portman Road on loan from Hull in January 2019.
The striker scored three goals in 12 appearances in the 2018-19 campaign and although he was unable to prevent the club’s relegation from the Championship, he made the move to Suffolk permanent that summer.
Keane scored just six goals for the Tractor Boys in the 2019-20 season and he departed in May 2020 after the club decided against taking up their option to extend his contract.
The 30-year-old subsequently joined Wigan Athletic and he found his form at the DW Stadium, scoring 27 goals as the Latics won the League One title in the 2021-22 campaign.
After Wigan’s relegation from the Championship last season, Keane joined Preston North End this summer and he has made a strong start to life at Deepdale.
Collin Quaner
Quaner joined the Tractor Boys on loan from Huddersfield Town in January 2019.
The striker helped the Terriers to promotion to the Premier League in the 2017-18 season, but his game time was limited in the top flight and he made the temporary switch to Portman Road in search of regular minutes.
Quaner scored four goals in 16 appearances for Ipswich before returning to Huddersfield after the club’s relegation, but he remained out of favour at the John Smith’s Stadium and he was released in July 2020.
The German had brief spells with St Mirren and Austria Klagenfurt before retiring from the game in December 2021 due to injury.
Simon Dawkins
Dawkins had spells with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Derby County and San Jose Earthquakes prior to joining Ipswich in January 2019 following a trial period.
However, the winger failed to make an impact at Portman Road and he made just two substitute appearances for the club, frequently being left out of the matchday squad.
After almost three years out of the game, the 35-year-old returned to football with Monterey Bay in March 2022.
James Collins
Collins arrived at Portman Road in January 2019 after being released by West Ham United in the summer.
The former Welsh international had spent much of his career in the Premier League with the Hammers and Aston Villa and Lambert will no doubt have been hoping his experience would have been useful to his side in their battle against relegation.
However, Collins made just six appearances for the Tractor Boys and he was released at the end of the season.
The 40-year-old announced his retirement from football in October 2020.
