Ipswich Town have experienced a stratospheric rise up the English Football Pyramid over the last couple of years.
Kieran McKenna has led the Tractor Boys from the depths of League One to the heady heights of the Premier League and has done so without spending an extraordinary sum of money.
Now, the club have still spent their fair share of cash, but it hasn’t been crazy, and up until this summer, they made good use of the loan system.
In fact, a good number of established players across Europe have spent time on loan at Portman Road, including one international who is now playing in the Champions League.
Ipswich's mixed loans
So, before we get to the player in question, let’s look at two youngsters who fared very differently during their time on loan at Portman Road, starting with Omari Hutchinson.
Of course, arguably one of the best loan signings in recent history was Hutchinson’s move to the Blues from Chelsea last season, as, despite being just 19 years old at the time, the incredibly talented gem made a significant contribution to the club’s eventual promotion.
In his 50 appearances for McKenna’s side, the Redhill-born ace scored 11 goals and provided six assists, which was enough to win the club’s Young Player of the Season Award and earn himself a £20m move in the summer.
However, not every temporary switch ends up going as well, and in the same summer that the former Chelsea ace arrived in Suffolk, another young attacker arrived from Tottenham Hotspur: Dane Scarlett.
The striker arrived at the end of August but was back in North London by the end of December, and while it was supposedly down to the Lilywhites’ lack of depth at the time, it was also undoubtedly due to the Englishman’s lack of impact and game time in the Championship.
For example, in his four months at the club, the 20-year-old played just 146 minutes of action across 12 appearances and failed to score a goal or provide a single assist. However, go back five years, and another Spurs youngster joined the club on a short-term loan, a player who has since seen his valuation and career take off.
Cameron Carter-Vickers valuation in 2024
The player in question is American international Cameron Carter-Vickers, who joined Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich Town on a short-term loan from Spurs in January 2018.
The Southend-born centre-back might not have been quite as game-changing for the Tractor Boys as Hutchinson was last season, but he did enjoy a successful stint in Suffolk, making 17 appearances for the side and winning the club’s Player of the Month Award in his first month.
The following years would see the 26-year-old spend time on loan with Swansea, Stoke City, Luton Town, Bournemouth and Celtic before officially joining the Scottish giants for around £6m in June 2022, where he has remained since.
Club
Appearances
Celtic
122
Swansea
33
Bournemouth
26
Sheffield United
18
Ipswich Town
17
Luton Town
16
Stoke City
15
Tottenham Hotspur
5
The 18-capped international has been brilliant for the Hoops, making 123 appearances for them since his initial loan spell, in which he has scored six goals, provided two assists, worn the captain’s armband at times and won three league titles, two League Cups and two Scottish Cups.
Moreover, the “outstanding” ace, as former manager Ange Postecoglou dubbed him, now has nine Champions League appearances to his name and has seen his valuation reach €14m per Transfermarkt, which is about £11.6m, or a whopping 1297% increase on his £830k valuation at Portman Road.
Ultimately, Ipswich have welcomed plenty of extremely talented players on loan over the years, but few players have gone on to be as successful as Carter Vickers has been with Celtic.
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