Exclusive: David Prutton tips £20m Ipswich Town star for "massive" Kieran McKenna impact in 25/26 | OneFootball

Sky Sports pundit David Prutton spoke exclusively to Football League World about Ipswich Town and Jaden Philogene ahead of next season

Ipswich Town will hold every intention of returning to the Premier League at the very first time of asking in the 2025/26 Championship campaign, having suffered a swift relegation alongside fellow freshly-promoted duo Leicester City and Southampton.

The Tractor Boys defied the odds to achieve successive promotions from League One to the top-flight under popular head coach Kieran McKenna, but have fallen short of ever truly threatening to contend for survival this season.

Indeed, Ipswich have won just four of their 35 matches; their mere points tally of 22 leaves them 15 points shy of 17th-placed West Ham United, and a 3-0 thrashing away to Newcastle at the end of the previous month mathematically confirmed the side's relegation with four fixtures to spare.

However, there is a school of thought that, of the three sides to have suffered immediate relegation back to the Championship, Ipswich may just be best-placed to go again and stamp down their authority in the second-tier. They are the only side of the relegated trio to have not changed managers this season, showing unrelenting faith and patience with McKenna, and are likely to retain the bulk of the playing squad, many of whom either helped the Tractor Boys to promotion last year or were acquired in the summer after flourishing with other Championship clubs.

Ipswich arguably had one eye on the Championship next season by signing the likes of Dara O'Shea, Jacob Greaves, Sammie Szmodics, Chiedozie Ogbene and Jack Clarke last summer, before bringing in Jaden Philogene during the January transfer window.

Philogene endured a difficult and brief return to Aston Villa in the first-half of the current campaign after earning widespread interest following his 12-goal haul for Hull City in 23/24, but Ipswich, who had courted him the previous summer, were not deterred and struck a reported £20 million deal to bring the talented winger to Portman Road.

The former England youth international star's time at Ipswich to date has been a mixed bag. He scored an emphatic brace at Old Trafford in a 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in what was only his third Premier League start for McKenna's side back in February, but like many, he has struggled for consistency and has also seen his season prematurely curtailed by injury.

However, there is serious excitement about what sort of success second-tier proven talent such as Philogene could deliver in Suffolk next time out.

David Prutton drops Jaden Philogene, Ipswich Town prediction for 25/26

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Sky Sports pundit and EFL expert David Prutton has tipped Philogene to potentially have a "massive" impact next season for Ipswich, who he believes represent the best-placed side to compete for promotion in 25/26.

In Prutton's view, the collective Championship experience across Ipswich's squad should place the side in a healthy position to reignite once again.

“He [Philogene] was very good at this level in the past, wasn’t he?“ Prutton told FLW.

“Collectively this squad has fallen short in the Premier League, I don’t think that’s any real disgrace given the size of the clubs they’re up against week in, week out.

“Financially, it feels like they’re on a pretty decent footing. They’ve got some assets, the big question is whether they keep the likes of [Liam] Delap, because my God he’s a good footballer.

“But Jaden could be a massive part of whatever success comes Ipswich Town’s way next season.

“I think that real nucleus of the squad, even though they’re a year older, should stand them in good stead. They know what it’s like to complete the marathon which is the Championship, and get over the dotted line.

“I think right now, given the situation of who is in charge of the other two clubs in Leicester and Southampton, and who comes next for them, Ipswich look fairly settled.

“It feels right now that out of the three that have come down, they look best-equipped. But as we know, on paper isn’t necessarily the same as what it takes to get through a Championship season, so time will tell.”

Ipswich Town's Jaden Philogene could be unplayable in the Championship next season

Anybody who watched Philogene at his exhilarating, breathtaking, X-Factor best for Hull last season can attest to the sort of influence and magic he is capable of weaving at this level.

The Villa academy product offered a consistent goal threat at the MKM Stadium and evolved into a more rounded player following an eye-catching season on loan with Cardiff City the year before.

Although this season, both with Villa and Ipswich, has not gone according to plan for Philogene, it has been a stop-start one which he will be eager to put in the past and pick up exactly where he left off. There is no denying the tricky winger's talent - his ability to beat a man on the inside, outside, or in just about any way he wishes, at almost any given time when at full throttle is remarkable.

With a penchant for pulling off the spectacular, Philogene possesses real star quality and could have a decisive impact for Ipswich next season.

The 23-year-old perhaps has not yet accumulated an ample body of top-flight work to convince clubs he deserves to remain in the Premier League, but it would be difficult to bet against him lighting up the Championship as part of yet another formidable Town side under McKenna.