Ipswich Town have returned to the Championship for this season after their humbling relegation from the Premier League, and the Tractor Boys have been ambitious in the summer transfer window, but plotting a move for Philip Billing would seem a bizarre one.
Kieran McKenna’s Town spent heavily in the Premier League last season, but they brought in some Championship all-stars into their squad, such as Jacob Greaves, Jaden Philogene, Jack Clarke and Sammie Szmodics.
Despite them arriving at a team that had already gained automatic promotion from the second-tier, it didn’t stop Ipswich from going on and attacking this summer’s transfer market with the arrivals of Cedric Kipre, Ashley Young, Azor Matusiwa and Chuba Akpom so far.
The signing of the latter, though, is the reason to believe their reported interest in Billing is unexpected and unnecessary, with both players what is already becoming a crowded spot in the Ipswich squad.
McKenna may well know what he is doing but the riches that have been afforded to Ipswich do appear to have them running the risk of stockpiling, and plenty of issues can arise from that.
Phillip Billing signing makes little sense after Chuba Akpom deal for Ipswich Town
Ipswich’s supposed pursuit of Denmark international Philip Billing would be a bizarre one after the effort they put in to ensuring they hijacked Birmingham City’s move for Chuba Akpom.
Billing, who is estimated to be earning £45,000 per week according to Capology, spent the second-half of last season on loan at Napoli from AFC Bournemouth, where he made a couple of notable contributions on their way to winning their fourth ever Serie A title.
Billing’s occasional notable performance and contributions for the Neapolitans came by doing what he has essentially built a career on; being a box-crashing, goalscoring midfielder.
That style of play is how he gained a positive reputation at Huddersfield Town and what earned his move to Bournemouth, with that sort of decisive impact, perhaps limited in his all-round game, also appealing to a side that would rarely use him unless an exceptional circumstance, such as Napoli.
Ipswich surely don’t have that sort of financial luxury, as well as the fact it would be hard to deny someone regular game time in the Championship after they have just won the Scudetto.
However, denying him game time is surely quite likely with Akpom, who has joined on loan from Ajax, surely expected to regularly play in the number ten role, where Billing would be at his best.
Akpom can play up-front but he has underperformed in that role for both Ajax and Lille in recent seasons, and his best role would be in the number ten position, where he thrived for Middlesbrough and scored the vast majority of his 28 goals in his final season the front four of a 4-2-3-1 in behind Cameron Archer.
The pursuit and effort to bring in the former Arsenal attacker surely means he gets deployed in the position to which he is best suited, and that makes any move for Billing ill-thought-out.
Ipswich Town have plenty of other attacking options
Clarke and Philogene are wide options for Town this season, but McKenna is also likely to occasionally lean on Ben Johnson as he did last season, with Chiedozie Ogbene having also now regained full fitness and Wes Burns set to return mid-way through the campaign.
There is probably scope for Ipswich to add to their wide options, especially after the sales of Nathan Broadhead and Omari Hutchinson, and even up-front following the departure of Liam Delap earlier this summer, leaving George Hirst alongside Ali Al Hamadi, who is the subject of interest from elsewhere.
The attacking midfield or ‘number ten’ role is perhaps the position in which Ipswich are most well stocked, with Szmodics suited to that position as well as Town cult hero Conor Chaplin, alongside the signing of Akpom.
If Billing is brought in to play in a deeper role then it will be a lot of money to shell out on someone not coming in to play their best role, and if he is brought in to play in the ‘ten’ then that becomes a very congested part of the team for Ipswich.
Billing is certainly an impressive player and would appear to be a coup on paper for Ipswich, but there are surely better options more fitting to the squad they have right now to sign for the fee or wages he could command.
Leave a Reply