2023–24 Ipswich Town F.C. season

Ipswich Town

2023–24 season
Owner	Gamechanger 20 Ltd.
Chairman	Mike O'Leary
Manager	Kieran McKenna
Stadium	Portman Road
Championship	2nd (promoted)
FA Cup	Fourth round
EFL Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Nathan Broadhead Conor Chaplin (13 each) All: Nathan Broadhead Conor Chaplin (13 each)
Highest home attendance	29,611 (vs Norwich City, 16 December 2023)
Lowest home attendance	27,070 (vs Hull City, 3 October 2023)
Average home league attendance	28,843
Biggest win	6–0, (vs Sheffield Wednesday (H), 16 March 2024)
Biggest defeat	0–4, (vs Leeds United (A), 23 December 2023)
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 season was the 146th season in the existence of Ipswich Town and their first season back in the Championship following their promotion from League One. In addition to the domestic league, the club also competed in the FA Cup and EFL Cup.

Following a 2–0 victory at home to Huddersfield Town on the final matchday of the season, Ipswich confirmed a second-place finish in the Championship, securing back-to-back promotions and a return to the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.^[1][2]

Led by head coach Kieran McKenna, Ipswich Town got off to a winning start in their first Championship campaign for four years. McKenna led Ipswich to wins both in their first away game, a 2–1 victory against Sunderland,^[3] as well as their first home game, a 2–0 victory against Stoke City.^[4] The team also progressed into the second round of the EFL Cup following a 2–0 victory against Bristol Rovers at home, where new signings Cieran Slicker and Jack Taylor both made their debuts, and Taylor scored his first goal.^[5] On 19 August, Ipswich went on to claim three points from Loftus Road following a 75th-minute goal from Conor Chaplin to secure a 1–0 victory against Queens Park Rangers.^[6] The following week saw Ipswich's first league loss since January,^[7] with a 4–3 loss against Leeds United.^[8] Ipswich then progressed to the third round of the EFL Cup after winning on penalties against Reading.

Kieran McKenna's side started the month with a 3–2 win against Cardiff City on 2 September, coming from behind with a brace from Freddie Ladapo and a goal from Nathan Broadhead.^[9] Following the international break, Ipswich gained six more points from a 1–0 away win against Sheffield Wednesday on 16 September, and three days later after a 1–0 win at Southampton.^[10][11] On 23 September, Ipswich played Blackburn Rovers at home, securing another 4–3 victory, before drawing 1–1 at the Kirklees Stadium against Huddersfield Town.^[12][13] Ipswich managed to maintain unbeaten in September, gaining thirteen out of a possible fifteen points, and scoring ten goals across five matches.

Ipswich also managed to come back from 2–0 down to win 3–2 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Cup third round.^[14]

Ipswich's form continued into the next month with a 3–0 home victory against Hull City on 3 October to go top of the league,^[15] before going to win 4–2 against Preston North End four days later.^[16] The fixture against Rotherham, scheduled for 25 October, was cancelled due to flooding at the New York Stadium, and was rescheduled for Wednesday 7 November.^[17] This meant Town could complete a second consecutive unbeaten month, with a 3–2 victory against Plymouth Argyle on 28 October 2023.^[17]

Ipswich started off the next month with a Carabao Cup round-of-16 fixture on 1 November against Premier League side Fulham. Eleven changes, and a debut for Axel Tuanzebe for Ipswich resulted in a 1–3 home loss,^[18] however attention could now turn to the league, with those being the only fixtures until January.^[19] Form started to falter slightly, following a 2–2 draw on 4 November against Wayne Rooney's Birmingham, with Marcus Harness scoring a brace to confirm a point in the final fifteen minutes.^[20] This was followed up with another 2–2 draw against Rotherham United F.C on 7 November.^[21] Despite this, on 11 November 2023, Ipswich got back to winning ways with a 3–2 win against Swansea City,^[22] and went into the international break with 39 points, only below Leicester on goal difference (Leicester +19 GD, Ipswich +15 GD, both on 39 points). A 2–0 defeat at The Hawthorns to West Bromwich Albion ended Ipswich's twelve game unbeaten run,^[23] but a 3–1 home win against Millwall on 29 November meant Ipswich ended their month in winning fashion.^[24]

Ipswich started December strongly, gaining the maximum nine points from their first three games – a 2–1 home win over Coventry, a 2–0 away victory at Middlesbrough and a 2–1 away victory over Watford.^[25] The first East Anglian derby in five years against Norwich City ended 2–2 at Portman Road on 16 December 2023. A downturn in form followed as a result of an ensuing injury crisis, with a 4–0 loss at Elland Road to Leeds United, before a 1–1 home draw against Leicester on Boxing Day and a 0–0 home draw against Queen's Park Rangers.

The first game of the year away against Stoke City ended in a goalless draw. Ipswich, however, found a win in the third round FA Cup against AFC Wimbledon, winning 3–1. Ipswich's form appeared to begin to improve, with a 2–1 home win against Sunderland on 13 January 2024, and a massive 1–1 draw at the King Power Stadium on 22 January to help maintain second place. They then suffered a shock defeat in the fourth round of the FA Cup, losing 2–1 at home to Maidstone United of the sixth tier of English football.

Ipswich's stuttering form in the Championship continued until early February, with a 3–2 away loss against Preston and a 2–2 draw at home to West Brom, dropping to 4th in the table. However, this was put into a stop with four successive victories; with away wins against Millwall and Swansea with scorelines of 0–4 and 1–2 respectively and home wins against Rotherham and Birmingham on scorelines of 4–3 and 3–1 respectively, climbing back to 3rd place.

The campaign in March was excellent, securing a 0–2 away win vs Plymouth and a 3–2 home win over Bristol City. However, Ipswich lost to Cardiff City 2–1 with 2 stoppage time goals pushing them to a defeat. Ipswich then grabbed their biggest home win and biggest win of the season with a 6–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, being just 1 point off of Leeds and Leicester for top spot heading into in the international break. On March 30, Ipswich secured a 0–1 away win against Blackburn, ending the month on top of the Championship after Leeds drew and Leicester lost their last match of the month respectively.

Kieran McKenna’s side started the month strongly with a 3-2 home win over fellow promotion hopefuls Southampton. This followed with a 1-0 reverse at home in the East Anglian Derby against Norwich City before a run of draws. Ipswich were held by Watford 0-0 and then Middlesbrough 1-1 at home. On the 14th April Kieran McKenna was awarded the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Season. ^[26] Ipswich then drew with Hull City 3-3 on the road where George Hirst made his return to the starting 11 from injury with the first goal of the game. The month ended with a 2-1 away win at Coventry City leaving Ipswich needing only a point from their final game of the season to secure back to back promotions and a return to Premier League Football.

The month sparked jubilation in the town of Ipswich as Ipswich Town secured Promotion to the Premier League after a 2-0 home win over Huddersfield Town. This made Ipswich Town the first team to secure back-to-back promotions from League One to the Championship and to the Premier League since Southampton in 2012, the fifth team to earn this honor, and it also ended their 22-year-long wait to the Premier League. The club ended their season in 2nd place with 96 points, one point below Championship winners Leicester City, and set a record for the most points by a team in an English second tier campaign that didn't win the title.^[27][28]

As of 23 March 2024

No.	Player	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Date signed	Fee	Contract end
Goalkeepers
1	Christian Walton	GK		Wadebridge	(1995-11-09) 9 November 1995 (age 28)	Brighton & Hove Albion	19 January 2022	Undisclosed	30 June 2024
13	Cieran Slicker	GK		Oldham	(2002-09-15) 15 September 2002 (age 21)	Manchester City	8 July 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2026
31	Václav Hladký	GK		Brno	(1990-11-14) 14 November 1990 (age 33)	Salford City	1 July 2021	Undisclosed	30 June 2024
32	Nick Hayes	GK		Clacton-on-Sea	(1999-04-10) 10 April 1999 (age 25)	Hemel Hempstead Town	31 January 2022	Undisclosed	30 June 2024
Defenders
2	Harry Clarke	RB		Ipswich	(2001-03-02) 2 March 2001 (age 23)	Arsenal	19 January 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2026
3	Leif Davis	LB		Newcastle upon Tyne	(1999-12-31) 31 December 1999 (age 24)	Leeds United	25 July 2022	£1,200,000	30 June 2025
4	George Edmundson	CB		Manchester	(1997-08-15) 15 August 1997 (age 26)	Rangers	27 July 2021	£875,000	30 June 2025
6	Luke Woolfenden	CB		Ipswich	(1998-10-21) 21 October 1998 (age 25)	Academy	1 July 2017	—	30 June 2025
15	Cameron Burgess	CB		Aberdeen	(1995-10-21) 21 October 1995 (age 28)	Accrington Stanley	15 August 2021	£880,000	30 June 2024
18	Brandon Williams	LB		Manchester	(2000-09-03) 3 September 2000 (age 23)	Manchester United	24 August 2023	Loan	31 May 2024
40	Axel Tuanzebe	CB		Bunia	(1997-11-14) 14 November 1997 (age 26)	Free agent	8 September 2023	—	30 June 2024
44	Janoi Donacien	CB		Castries	(1993-11-03) 3 November 1993 (age 30)	Accrington Stanley	3 January 2019	Undisclosed	30 June 2024
Midfielders
5	Sam Morsy	CM		Wolverhampton	(1991-09-10) 10 September 1991 (age 32)	Middlesbrough	31 August 2021	Undisclosed	30 June 2024
12	Dominic Ball	DM		Welwyn Garden City	(1995-08-02) 2 August 1995 (age 28)	Queens Park Rangers	1 July 2022	Free transfer	30 June 2024
14	Jack Taylor	CM		Hammersmith	(1998-06-23) 23 June 1998 (age 26)	Peterborough United	26 June 2023	£1,500,000	30 June 2026
20	Omari Hutchinson	AM		Redhill	(2003-10-29) 29 October 2003 (age 20)	Chelsea	20 July 2023	Loan	30 June 2024
21	Jeremy Sarmiento	AM		Madrid	(2002-06-16) 16 June 2002 (age 22)	Brighton & Hove Albion	3 January 2024	Loan	31 May 2024
25	Massimo Luongo	CM		Sydney	(1992-09-25) 25 September 1992 (age 31)	Middlesbrough	5 January 2023	Free transfer	30 June 2025
28	Lewis Travis	DM		Whiston	(1997-10-16) 16 October 1997 (age 26)	Blackburn Rovers	5 January 2024	Loan	31 May 2024
30	Cameron Humphreys	CM		Colchester	(2003-10-30) 30 October 2003 (age 20)	Academy	1 July 2022	—	30 June 2026
Forwards
7	Wes Burns	RW		Cardiff	(1994-11-23) 23 November 1994 (age 29)	Fleetwood Town	1 July 2021	Undisclosed	30 June 2025
10	Conor Chaplin	SS		Worthing	(1997-02-16) 16 February 1997 (age 27)	Barnsley	27 July 2021	£875,000	30 June 2026
11	Marcus Harness	RW		Coventry	(1996-02-24) 24 February 1996 (age 28)	Portsmouth	15 July 2022	£700,000	30 June 2025
16	Ali Al-Hamadi	CF		Maysan Governorate	(2002-03-01) 1 March 2002 (age 22)	AFC Wimbledon	29 January 2024	£1,000,000	30 June 2028
19	Kayden Jackson	CF		Bradford	(1994-02-22) 22 February 1994 (age 30)	Accrington Stanley	9 August 2018	£1,800,000	30 June 2024
23	Sone Aluko	RW		Hounslow	(1989-02-19) 19 February 1989 (age 35)	Reading	6 August 2021	Free transfer	30 June 2024
24	Kieffer Moore	CF		Torquay	(1992-08-08) 8 August 1992 (age 31)	Bournemouth	1 February 2024	Loan	31 May 2024
27	George Hirst	CF		Sheffield	(1999-02-15) 15 February 1999 (age 25)	Leicester City	13 July 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2027
33	Nathan Broadhead	CF		Bangor	(1998-04-05) 5 April 1998 (age 26)	Everton	9 January 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2026
51	Gerrard Buabo	CF		London	(2005-05-24) 24 May 2005 (age 19)	Academy	2 November 2022	—	30 June 2025
Out on loan
9	Freddie Ladapo	CF		Romford	(1993-02-01) 1 February 1993 (age 31)	Rotherham United	1 July 2022	Free transfer	30 June 2025
18	Gassan Ahadme	CF		Vic	(2000-11-17) 17 November 2000 (age 23)	Burton Albion	1 September 2022	Undisclosed	30 June 2025
22	Idris El Mizouni	CM		Paris	(2000-09-26) 26 September 2000 (age 23)	Academy	1 July 2019	—	30 June 2024
26	Elkan Baggott	CB		Bangkok	(2002-10-23) 23 October 2002 (age 21)	Academy	28 January 2021	—	30 June 2025
28	Panutche Camará	CM		Canchungo	(1997-02-28) 28 February 1997 (age 27)	Plymouth Argyle	1 September 2022	£580,000	30 June 2024
—	Corrie Ndaba	CB		Dublin	(1999-12-25) 25 December 1999 (age 24)	Cherry Orchard	1 July 2016	Free transfer	30 June 2025

Position	Name
Manager	Kieran McKenna
Assistant Manager	Martyn Pert
First-team Coach	Lee Grant
Goalkeeping Coach	Rene Gilmartin
Director of Performance	Andy Rolls
Head of Strength & Conditioning	Ivan Mukandi
First-team Fitness Coach	Jon Ashton
Head Physiotherapist	Matt Byard
Assistant Head Physiotherapist	Alex Chapman
Sports Therapist	Alice Gindrod
Rehabilitation Coach	Luke Sewell
Head of Athletic Performance	Matt Allen
Sports Scientist	Kit Barnes
Head of Analysis	Charlie Turnbull
Head of Performance Analysis	Will Stephenson
Performance Analyst	Morgan Howells
Performance Analyst	Judah Davis
Head of Recruitment	Sam Williams
Recruitment Analyst	Alex Hood
Recruitment Analyst	Jacob Ashton
Kit Manager	James Pullen
Assistant Kit Manager	Lee Owen

Date	Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Ref.
25 May 2023	GK	Charlie Binns	Free agent	—	[29]
26 June 2023	CM	Jack Taylor	Peterborough United	Undisclosed[a]	[30]
1 July 2023	GK	Henry Gray	Waterside Karori	Undisclosed	[31]
8 July 2023	GK	Cieran Slicker	Manchester City	Undisclosed	[32]
13 July 2023	CF	George Hirst	Leicester City	Undisclosed[b]	[33]
8 September 2023	CB	Axel Tuanzebe	Free agent	—	[34]
29 January 2024	CF	Ali Al-Hamadi	AFC Wimbledon	Undisclosed[c]	[35]

Date	Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Ref.
28 June 2023	CM	Rekeem Harper	Burton Albion	Mutual consent	[36][37]
30 June 2023	DM	Fraser Alexander	Bishop's Stortford	Released	[38][39]
30 June 2023	CB	Albie Armin	Leiston	Released	[38][40]
30 June 2023	GK	Joel Coleman	Bolton Wanderers	Released	[38][41]
30 June 2023	CB	Daniel Cousens	AFC Sudbury	Free transfer	[42]
30 June 2023	CF	Harley Curtis	Free agent	Released	[38]
30 June 2023	CM	Alfie Cutbush	Free agent	Released	[38]
30 June 2023	CM	Matt Healy	Francs Borains	Released	[38][43]
30 June 2023	LB	Max Hudson	Free agent	Released	[38]
30 June 2023	CB	Brooklyn Kabongolo	Free agent	Released	[38]
30 June 2023	CB	Richard Keogh	Wycombe Wanderers	Released	[38][44]
30 June 2023	LB	Matt Penney	Free agent	Released	[38]
30 June 2023	GK	Lewis Ridd	Derby County	Released	[38][45]
30 June 2023	RB	Kane Vincent-Young	Wycombe Wanderers	Released	[38][46]
21 July 2023	CF	Joe Pigott	Leyton Orient	Mutual consent	[47][48]
24 August 2023	LB	Greg Leigh	Oxford United	Undisclosed	[49]
18 September 2023	CM	Tawanda Chirewa	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Compensation	[50]
1 January 2024	CF	Tete Yengi	Livingston	Undisclosed	[51]
12 January 2024	LW	Kyle Edwards	Oxford United	Mutual consent	[52][53]
2 February 2024	CB	Zak Bradshaw	Lincoln City	Free Transfer	[54]
2 February 2024	CM	Lee Evans	Portsmouth	Mutual Consent	[55][56]

Date from	Pos.	Player	Loaned from	Date to	Ref.
20 July 2023	AM	Omari Hutchinson	Chelsea	End of season	[57]
24 August 2023	LB	Brandon Williams	Manchester United	End of season	[58]
31 August 2023	CF	Dane Scarlett	Tottenham Hotspur	27 December 2023[a]	[59][60]
3 January 2024	AM	Jeremy Sarmiento	Brighton & Hove Albion	End of season	[61]
5 January 2024	DM	Lewis Travis	Blackburn Rovers	End of season	[62]
1 February 2024	CF	Kieffer Moore	Bournemouth	End of season	[63]

Date from	Pos.	Player	Loaned to	Date to	Ref.
1 July 2023	CB	Corrie Ndaba	Kilmarnock	End of season	[64]
1 July 2023	CF	Gassan Ahadme	Cambridge United	End of season	[65]
5 July 2023	GK	Danny Cullum	Bury Town	End of season	[66]
5 July 2023	CM	Idris El Mizouni	Leyton Orient	End of season	[67]
18 July 2023	CM	Panutche Camará	Charlton Athletic	End of season	[68]
31 July 2023	CB	Cameron Stewart	Cove Rangers	End of season	[69]
26 August 2023	CM	Jack Manly	Leiston	End of season	[70]
1 September 2023	LM	Kyle Edwards	Oxford United	12 January 2024[a]	[71][52]
7 October 2023	GK	Nick Hayes	Southend United	14 October 2023	[72]
19 January 2024	CF	Freddie Ladapo	Charlton Athletic	End of season	[73]
1 February 2024	CB	Elkan Baggott	Bristol Rovers	End of season	[74]
24 February 2024	AM	Osman Foyo	Welling United	23 March 2024	[75]

Date signed	Nationality	Name	Contract length	Expiry	Ref.
13 September 2023		Martyn Pert	4 years	2027	[76]
13 September 2023		Lee Grant	4 years	2027	[76]
13 September 2023		Charlie Turnbull	4 years	2027	[76]
13 September 2023		Rene Gilmartin	4 years	2027	[76]

Date signed	Number	Position	Nationality	Name	Contract length	Expiry	Ref.
24 January 2024	25	CM		Massimo Luongo	1 year	2025	[77]

Date signed	Number	Pos.	Nationality	Player	Contract length	Expiry	Ref.
11 July 2022	–	GK		Woody Williamson	Two years	2025	[78]
11 July 2022	–	GK		Antoni Bort	Six months	2024	[78]

On 5 June, Ipswich Town announced their first two pre-season friendlies, against Cambridge United and Stevenage.^[79] A day later, a third fixture was added, against Felixstowe & Walton United.^[80] On June 20, a fourth fixture was confirmed, against Preston North End.^[81] A day later, a further addition to the pre-season calendar, against Maidenhead United was added.^[82]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

Felixstowe & Walton United v Ipswich Town

1 July 2023 Friendly	Felixstowe & Walton United	0–6	Ipswich Town	Felixstowe
13:00 BST		Report	Ladapo x2' Aluko Edwards Jackson Camará	Stadium: Dellwood Avenue

Maidenhead United v Ipswich Town

7 July 2023 Friendly	Maidenhead United	1–2	Ipswich Town	Needham Market
19:45 BST	McCoulsky	Report	Harness Ladapo	Stadium: Bloomfields

Spartak Trnava v Ipswich Town

15 July 2023 Friendly	Spartak Trnava	1–2	Ipswich Town	Maria Enzersdorf
11:00 CEST	Djuricin 56'	Report	Aluko 4' Harness 46'	Stadium: Motion invest Arena

Admira Wacker Mödling v Ipswich Town

15 July 2023 Friendly	Admira Wacker Mödling	2–2	Ipswich Town	Maria Enzersdorf
16:00 CEST	Keckeisen 38' Young 41'	Report	Ladapo 39' Chaplin 72'	Stadium: Motion invest Arena

Preston North End v Ipswich Town

19 July 2023 Friendly	Preston North End	1–2	Ipswich Town	Preston
19:00 BST	Rodriguez-Gentile 81'	Report	Chaplin 34' Hirst 78'	Stadium: Deepdale

Cambridge United v Ipswich Town

22 July 2023 Friendly	Cambridge United	2–1	Ipswich Town	Cambridge
12:00 BST	Janneh 29' Morrison 90'	Report	Davis 2'	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 2,936 (517 Town fans)

Stevenage v Ipswich Town

22 July 2023 Friendly	Stevenage	2–1	Ipswich Town	Stevenage
15:00 BST	Reid 6' Thompson 49'	Report	Hirst 68'	Stadium: The Lamex Stadium

Luton Town v Ipswich Town

25 July 2023 Friendly	Luton Town	1–1	Ipswich Town	Colchester
19:30 BST	Morris 75' (pen.)	Report	Burns 13'	Stadium: Colchester Community Stadium

RB Leipzig v Ipswich Town

28 July 2023 Innsbruck Cup	RB Leipzig	0–1	Ipswich Town	Innsbruck
14:30 CEST		Report	Hirst 50'	Stadium: Tivoli Stadion Tirol

Werder Bremen v Ipswich Town

28 July 2023 Innsbruck Cup	Werder Bremen	1–1	Ipswich Town	Innsbruck
17:00 CEST	Kownacki 12'	Report	Leigh 54'	Stadium: Tivoli Stadion Tirol

On 22 June, the EFL Championship fixtures were released.^[84]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures