Ipswich Town: Leif Davis transfer fear played down despite "Newcastle and Leeds" possibility | OneFootball

The defender was a key performer in Ipswich’s Championship promotion season, but tailed off slightly in the top tier

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Leif Davis was one of the most talked-about players in the 2023/24 Championship season.

He racked up an incredible 21 assists in the second tier during that campaign on the way to Ipswich Town, earning promotion, but he failed to translate that creative wizardry into goal contributions in the Premier League this term.

With the Tractor Boys suffering immediate relegation, finances may need looking at, and some players could be sold.

With that in mind, we asked our Ipswich Fan Pundit, Adam, whether Davis could be one of those, and where he might end up if so.

Davis not backed to have many top-level suitors

Speaking to Football League World, Adam said: “I actually think Leif had quite a poor season in the Premier League. He ended up with two assists.

“It was more his defensive abilities that he struggled with. He had the habit of overcovering.

“In McKenna's system, he's asked to do a lot. He's asked to be like the high, attacking outlet down the left, almost a left-winger at times, and then cover all the way back, and up against a higher quality of opposition, I think he really struggled defensively. I think he was at fault for quite a few goals, and had the red card against Man United.

“I think on the attacking side, a lot of his assists last season came from corners and set pieces, and his delivery was excellent, and we had a number of set piece routines where he'd find Conor Chaplin, and that were worked on the training ground.

“Our set pieces as a whole this year were disappointing, and he didn't take as many either. Other players ended up taking a lot of the corners as well. So, I think that's why some of his output went down.

“I can't see us needing to sell him, and I can't see that many clubs coming in for him. I think weirdly, at the moment, the left-backs in the Premier League are very high quality.

“Going through the teams, even in, like, the mid-table teams like Bournemouth, you've got Kerkez there who's unbelievable. Fulham have Antonee Robinson. I don't think he's [Davis] as good as either of those, so he'd be coming in as a squad player.

“Newcastle; he's Geordie, so he might, if they came in from him, he might want to go there, but again, he'd then be back up to Lewis Hall and would Newcastle go for him at anyway.

“But Newcastle and Leeds, I guess, would be the other one of the two that would probably hold the biggest pull for him as a player. But I can't see us needing to sell him unless a good bid came in.”

Davis staying put probably works for all parties

Although Davis has now played a full Premier League season, he didn’t necessarily stamp his name on the division.

As Adam identifies, with the likes of Lewis Hall, Milos Kerkez, Antonee Robinson and Rayan Ait-Nouri to name just a few, the league is awash with quality assets in that position.

It doesn’t mean Davis will field no interest – especially if any of the above move on – but, given his numbers this season, he’s unlikely to have raced to the top of many Premier League recruitment lists.

At 25, he still has years ahead of him to reach that division again. He may be better served dropping back down with Ipswich and finding that blistering form to help get Ipswich promoted again.

From the club's perspective, with parachute payments as hefty as they are, there should be no immediate need to sell if Davis is happy to remain.