The 2026–27 season is the 149th season in the history of Ipswich Town Football Club, and their first season back in the Premier League since the 2024–25 campaign, following promotion from the Championship in the preceding season. In addition to the domestic league, the club is also competing in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
Managerial changes Prior to the season starting, it was announced that after four-and-a-half years at the club, Kieran McKenna would step down as manager and football management as a whole to focus his time with his family. On 23 June 2026, Town announced the signing of Gary O'Neil from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg as the new manager on a three year deal.
First-team key staff Position Name Manager Gary O'Neil Assistant Manager Tim Jenkins First-Team Coaches Sone Aluko Ed Ames Neil Critchley Stuart Lewis Goalkeeping Coaches Rene Gilmartin David Button Fitness Coach Jon Ashton Director of Football Operations Dmitri Halajko Director of Performance Andy Rolls Head of Analysis Cillian Callaly Head of Recruitment Will Stephenson Head of Athletic Performance Matt AllenHead Physiotherapist Matt Byard Head of Strength & Conditioning Dan Peacock Sports Scientist Kit Barnes Sports Therapist Alice Grindrod Kit Manager Lee Owen
First-team squad
No. Player Position(s) Nationality Place of birth Date of birth (age) Signed from Date signed Fee Contract end Goalkeepers 1 Alex Palmer GK Kidderminster West Bromwich Albion 3 February 2025 £2,000,000 30 June 2028 27 David Button GK Stevenage Reading 3 February 2025 Free transfer 30 June 2026 28 Christian Walton GK Wadebridge Brighton & Hove Albion 19 January 2022 Undisclosed 30 June 2029 37 Kjell Scherpen GK Emmen Union Saint-Gilloise 28 July 2026 £8,500,000 30 June 2030 Defenders 2 Darnell Furlong RB/LB Luton West Bromwich Albion 28 August 2025 £3,500,000 30 June 2028 3 Leif Davis LB Newcastle upon Tyne Leeds United 25 July 2022 £1,200,000 30 June 2029 4 Cédric Kipré CB Paris Reims 1 July 2026 £2,160,000 30 June 2028 6 Issa Diop CB Toulouse Fulham 22 July 2026 £8,500,000 30 June 2030 24 Jacob Greaves CB Cottingham Hull City 12 July 2024 Undisclosed 30 June 2029 26 Dara O'Shea CB Dublin Burnley 25 August 2024 Undisclosed 30 June 2030 42 Abdoul Ouattara LB/RB Zoukpangbeu RC Strasbourg 17 August 2026 £17,100,000 30 June 2031 Midfielders 5 Azor Matusiwa DM Hilversum Rennes 13 July 2025 £7,800,000 30 June 2029 12 Florentino Luís DM Lobito Burnley 4 August 2026 £16,000,000 30 June 2031 14 Jack Taylor CM Hammersmith Peterborough United 26 June 2023 £1,500,000 30 June 2028 23 Saša Lukić DM Šabac Fulham 8 August 2026 £9,000,000 30 June 2030 25 Exequiel Palacios CM Famaillá Bayer 04 Leverkusen 27 August 2026 £19,200,000 30 June 2030 32 Marcelino Núñez CM Recoleta Norwich City 29 August 2025 £7,500,000 30 June 2029 Forwards 7 Abdul Fatawu RW Tamale Leicester City 21 July 2026 £20,000,000 30 June 2031 8 Sindre Walle Egeli RW/SS Larvik FC Nordsjælland 29 August 2025 £17,500,000 30 June 2030 9 Zian Flemming CF/SS Amsterdam Burnley 1 September 2026 £17,000,000 30 June 2030 10 Julio Enciso SS/LW Caaguazú RC Strasbourg 17 August 2026 £26,100,000 30 June 2031 11 Jaden Philogene LW/RW Hammersmith Aston Villa 15 January 2025 Undisclosed 30 June 2029 19 Emersonn CF Atílio Vivacqua Toulouse 8 July 2026 £24,000,000 30 June 2031 20 Kasey McAteer RW Northampton Leicester City 22 August 2025 £11,500,000 30 June 2029 29 Chuba Akpom CF/SS Newham Ajax 1 July 2026 £7,000,000 30 June 2029 33 Anis Mehmeti LW/SS Islington Bristol City 23 January 2026 £3,000,000 30 June 2029 38 Daizen Maeda CF/LW Taishi Celtic 25 July 2026 £8,000,000 30 June 2029 47 Jack Clarke LW York Sunderland 24 August 2024 Undisclosed 30 June 2029 Out on loan 18 Ben Johnson RB/LB Waltham Forest West Ham United 1 July 2024 Free transfer 30 June 2028 21 Chiedozie Ogbene RW Lagos Luton Town 28 August 2024 Undisclosed 30 June 2028 30 Cameron Humphreys CM Colchester Academy 1 July 2022 30 June 2028 31 Kayne van Oevelen GK Zaandam FC Volendam 21 July 2026 £3,400,000 30 June 2031 Cieran Slicker GK Oldham Manchester City 8 July 2023 Undisclosed 30 June 2028 Ali Al-Hamadi CF Maysan AFC Wimbledon 29 January 2024 £1,000,000 30 June 2028 Sammie Szmodics SS/CF Colchester Blackburn Rovers 16 August 2024 Undisclosed 30 June 2028
Transfers and contracts In Date Pos Nationality Player From Fee Ref First team 1 July 2026 CB Cédric Kipré Reims £2,160,000 CF Chuba Akpom Ajax £7,000,000 8 July 2026 CF Emersonn Toulouse £24,000,000 21 July 2026 GK Kayne van Oevelen FC Volendam £3,400,000 RW Abdul Fatawu Leicester City £20,000,000 22 July 2026 CB Issa Diop Fulham £8,500,000 25 July 2026 CF Daizen Maeda Celtic £8,000,000 28 July 2026 GK Kjell Scherpen Union Saint-Gilloise £8,500,000 4 August 2026 CM Florentino Luís Burnley £16,000,000 8 August 2026 DM Saša Lukić Fulham £9,000,000 17 August 2026 LB Abdoul Ouattara RC Strasbourg £17,100,000 SS Julio Enciso £26,100,000 27 August 2026 CM Exequiel Palacios Bayer 04 Leverkusen £19,200,000 1 September 2026 CF Zian Flemming Burnley £17,000,000 Academy 1 July 2026 RW Frankie Runham Chelsea Undisclosed CF Luca Fletcher Manchester City 17 July 2026 RW Christopher Atherton Chelsea Women's team 26 June 2026 CAM Kit Graham Tottenham Hotspur Free transfer 29 June 2026 LW Rosie Livingstone Hibernian Undisclosed 1 July 2026 CM Jenna Slattery Hearts LW Megan Hornby Portsmouth Free transfer 8 July 2026 CM Aimee Palmer Southampton 9 July 2026 CB Georgia Hunter Hearts 10 July 2026 CF Eilidh Adams Hibernian 13 July 2026 CF Georgia Timms Hearts 14 July 2026 CB Kenzie Weir Everton 15 July 2026 RB Emma Lawton Celtic 16 July 2026 LW Tegan McGowan Birmingham City 28 August 2026 RB Jorja Fox Chelsea Undisclosed 1 September 2026 CAM Rosella Ayane Leicester City Free transfer
Out Date Pos Nationality Player To Fee Ref First team 1 June 2026 GK Arijanet Muric Sassuolo £6,000,000 30 June 2026 RB Ashley Young Retired 15 July 2026 CB Elkan Baggott Millwall Undisclosed 6 August 2026 RW Wes Burns Leicester City £75,000 14 August 2026 RB Harry Clarke Preston North End Undisclosed 20 August 2026 CF George Hirst Stoke City £6,000,000 Academy Women's team 7 July 2026 RW Sophie Peskett Brighton & Hove Albion Undisclosed
Loaned in Date Pos Nationality Player Loaned from Date until Ref First team Academy 2 September 2026 GK Alex Noonan Shamrock Rovers End of season Women's team 14 July 2026 RW Ava Baker Birmingham City 3 September 2026 3 September 2026 CAM Mary McAteer Charlton Athletic End of season
Loaned out Date Pos Nationality Player Loaned to Date until Ref First team 13 July 2026 GK Cieran Slicker Barnsley End of season 1 August 2026 SS Sammie Szmodics Derby County 21 August 2026 RB Ben Johnson Stoke City 24 August 2026 GK Kayne van Oevelen Valencia 26 August 2026 CF Ali Al-Hamadi Sheffield Wednesday 1 September 2026 CM Cameron Humphreys Huddersfield Town RW Chiedozie Ogbene Lincoln City 2 January 2027 Academy 16 July 2026 GK Henry Gray Wellington Phoenix End of season 28 July 2026 LB Somto Boniface Leyton Orient 7 August 2026 CM Finley Barbrook Falkirk CM Steven Turner Woking 29 August 2026 GK George Barrett Braintree Town 2 January 2027 1 September 2026 RW Tudor Mendel-Idowu Luton Town 17 September 2026 CM Joshua Hammond Soham Town Rangers 15 October 2026 18 September 2026 RW Nico Valentine Billericay Town 17 October 2026 Women's team 27 July 2026 GK Laura Hartley Hashtag United End of season 2 September 2026 RB Grace Neville Watford Academy loans only shows players gone to a National League N/S team or higher and for more than a month
Released / out of contract Date Pos Nationality Player Subsequent club Join date Ref First team 30 June 2026 LB Conor Townsend West Bromwich Albion 24 July 2026 SS Conor Chaplin Leicester City 16 July 2026 Academy 30 June 2026 GK William Fletcher RB Daniel Babb RB Steve Brouwers CB Fraser Heard LB Lenny O'Sullivan CM Ryan Carr St Mirren 1 July 2026 CM Usisya Longwe Bishop's Stortford 19 August 2026 CM Abube Onuchukwu CM Tyler Young RW Will Unadike CAM Rio Oudnie-Morgan LW Leon Ayinde Doncaster Rovers 1 July 2026 SS Afi Adeabyo Braintree Town 22 August 2026 CF Jackson Chuckwu-Nsofor Bishop's Stortford 19 August 2026 Women's team 30 June 2026 GK Nina Meollo LB Summer Hughes Portsmouth 9 July 2026 CM Sophie Baigent CM Kaci-Jai Bonwick CM Ruby Doe Hashtag United 28 August 2026 CM Charlotte Fleming CM Shauna Guyatt CM Kyra Robertson Bournemouth 1 July 2026 W Ruby Seaby Glasgow City 8 July 2026 CF Rianna Dean Fulham 30 July 2026 CF Natasha Thomas Wrexham 3 July 2026
New contracts Date signed Pos Nationality Player Expiry Ref First team 15 June 2026 RB Harry Clarke 30 June 2027 5 July 2026 RW Wes Burns 1 September 2026 CM Cameron Humphreys 30 June 2028 29 September 2026 GK Christian Walton 30 June 2029 Academy 15 June 2026 GK George Barrett 30 June 2027 GK Henry Gray LB Josh Lewis CB Walker Shabazz-Edwards GK Woody Williamson Undisclosed CB Jokūbas Mažionis RW Nico Valentine 30 June 2026 LW Ashton Boswell 30 June 2027 7 July 2026 CF Sid Eldred Undisclosed 13 August 2026 LB Darragh McCann 19 August 2026 RB Leon Elliott 26 August 2026 RW Tudor Mendel-Idowu 30 June 2028 Women's team 15 June 2026 CM Leah Mitchell 30 June 2028 18 June 2026 CB Maria Boswell 30 June 2027 30 June 2026 CB Megan Wearing 30 June 2028 24 July 2026 CM Lucy O'Brien 30 June 2027 27 July 2026 GK Laura Hartley
Pre-season and friendlies On 16 June, Ipswich announced their first four pre-season friendlies ahead of the 2026–27 campaign. Town will first visit Spain for a training camp from 20 July to 24 July before taking on La Liga side CA Osasuna at the Colchester Community Stadium. Following this, Town will then take on League One sides Oxford United at Kassam Stadium and Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park before welcoming Ligue 1 side Le Havre AC to Portman Road and then La Liga side Rayo Vallecano four days after. On 24 June, Ipswich announced their final pre-season friendly when they travel to Berlin, Germany to take on Bundesliga side Union Berlin.
Competitions Overall record
Premier League
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches On 19 June, the Premier League fixtures were released.
FA Cup
As a Premier League club, Ipswich will enter the FA Cup in the third round.
EFL Cup
As a Premier League club, Ipswich entered the EFL Cup in the second round. On 10 August 2026, the second round draw was made, with Ipswich being drawn at home against Leicester City. Following a 3–1 win, on 26 August 2026, Ipswich were drawn at home against Arsenal for the third round.
Statistics Appearances and goals
|colspan="14"|Player(s) who featured but departed the club permanently during the season: |- |colspan="14"|Player(s) who featured but currently out on loan:
Goalscorers
RankNo.Pos.Nat.PlayerPremier LeagueFA CupEFL CupTotal132MF Marcelino Núñez002219FW Emersonn20023DF Leif Davis200229FW Chuba Akpom1012547FW Jack Clarke10018FW Sindre Walle Egeli00119FW Zian Flemming100133FW Anis Mehmeti0011Totals70512
Assists
RankNo.Pos.Nat.PlayerPremier LeagueFA CupEFL CupTotal110FWJulio Enciso200247FW Jack Clarke00223DF Leif Davis1012423MFSaša Lukić100129FW Chuba Akpom001130MF Cameron Humphreys00117FW Abdul Fatawu100119FW Emersonn1001Totals60511
Clean sheets
RankNo.Nat.PlayerPremier LeagueFA CupEFL CupTotalTotals0000
Disciplinary record
No. Pos. Nat. Player Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Total 4DFCédric Kipré000010107FWAbdul Fatawu310000319FWZian Flemming1000001010FWJulio Enciso1000001020FWKasey McAteer0000101023MFSaša Lukić2000002024DFJacob Greaves1000001030MFCameron Humphreys0000101032MFMarcelino Núñez0000101047FWJack Clarke10001020Totals910050141
Captains
RankNo.Nat.PlayerPremier LeagueFA CupEFL CupTotalNotes126Dara O'Shea5016Club captain22Darnell Furlong0011
Awards Player awards Premier League Goal of the Month MonthPlayerOppositionResultAugustFW Emersonnv. Sunderland
Premier League Creative Moment of the Month