How is Sammie Szmodics getting on at Ipswich Town after leaving Blackburn Rovers? | OneFootball

The former Championship golden boot winner swapped Ewood Park for Portman Road in the summer transfer window.

Blackburn Rovers haven't allowed Sammie Szmodics' transfer to Ipswich Town to reset their Premier League promotion vision.

The Republic of Ireland international recorded one of the most impressive individual seasons by a Rovers player in recent history last term, with his 27 Championship goals crowning him as the league's top scorer last year.

It was an accomplishment made even more astonishing given Blackburn's 19th-placed finish in the second tier, with their 74 goals conceded last season preventing them from otherwise challenging towards the top of the division.

As such, Premier League newboys Ipswich shelled out a fee of £9m plus add-ons to bring the versatile forward to Portman Road in the summer, with the feeling among many fans across the Championship that this could serve as a hammer blow to Blackburn's chances of survival this season.

However, quite the opposite is occurring. Despite recently losing their manager John Eustace to Derby County in a shocking turn of events, Rovers still find themselves firmly in contention for a top-six finish, in what would be a remarkable turnaround at Ewood Park.

So, has the grass been greener for Szmodics in Suffolk? Or has his move to the top flight not yet gone to plan? Football League World investigates.

Szmodics has been carving out a starting role in Kieran McKenna's Ipswich Town side

Predominantly being deployed as a left-winger by McKenna, Szmodics has largely solidified a starting role in Ipswich Town's side so far this season.

That's not due to the 29-year-old having no competition in that department either, as summer arrival Jack Clarke and Nathan Broadhead have both proven themselves to be quality players in recent seasons, whilst Omari Hutchinson, Jaden Philogene and Julio Enciso can all operate on the left flank too.

However, out of the 18 appearances he's made in the Premier League this season after 24 matches played, the Irishman has started 13 of them, with just short of 1,000 minutes banked in the top flight so far this term - per FotMob.

He is, however, yet to play a full 90 minutes from start to finish in the league this season, with the longest he's spent on the pitch in any one game being 81, which came on matchday three in a 1-1 home draw with Fulham - per Transfermarkt.

As previously mentioned though, that's perhaps largely down to McKenna having numerous quality options to turn to in that position as opposed to Szmodics struggling massively in games, or being unable to physically complete the full 90 minutes - something he was able to do most weeks for Blackburn last season.

Injury setbacks have limited his Ipswich Town impact so far in 2025

2025 hasn't gotten off to the best of starts for Szmodics, however, as numerous injury blows have seen him play in just two games (Fulham - League, Coventry - FA Cup) so far this calendar year heading into their Premier League clash with Aston Villa on 15 February.

The former Blackburn man would sit out five games between Ipswich's 2-2 away draw at Fulham on 5 January and their 4-1 win over Coventry in the FA Cup on 8 February with an ankle issue, before being forced to withdraw from that cup clash with the Sky Blues after just 35 minutes with that same problem.

Speaking on that injury via The Irish Mirror, McKenna said: “I don't know if it's a recurrence, but it's the same ankle so the chances are it's probably linked. That's a big blow, no doubt about it. We've really enjoyed having him back with us training this week.

“He gives us a different dynamic, a different maturity, a different age profile. We'll keep our fingers crossed, but that's the big downside from today. He’s been an important figure with his goals, but also he’s a different type to the forwards we’ve had playing for the last couple of weeks.”

Szmodics appears to be loving life at Ipswich Town despite recent injury woes

Despite these fresh injury concerns, Szmodics appears to be enjoying his time in Suffolk so far, both on and off the pitch.

Perhaps his standout moment in an Ipswich shirt so far came at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, where his overhead kick finish helped secure a memorable 2-1 away win for the Tractor Boys back in early November.

It was the type of goal that makes you instant royalty with the fans, much like renowned singer-songwriter and Ipswich Town superfan Ed Sheeran.

Posting to his Instagram account after the game, Szmodics was seen pictured celebrating with Sheeran, with a caption that read: "Overhead kick, Win & a smudge with big ed. GET IN THERE 💙 🚜."

Clearly then, Szmodics has taken to life as an Ipswich player extremely well since leaving Blackburn, and looks to be thoroughly enjoying his time in his new surroundings.