At the end of the season, there will undoubtedly be some departures from Portman Road.
Ipswich Town, led by Kieran McKenna, has been among the most entertaining teams in the Championship this year. Despite a setback in January, including an unexpected FA Cup loss to Maidstone United of National League South, the Tractor Boys have bounced back and are still in the running for automatic promotion.
McKenna has a wealth of excellent players at his disposal, including the extraordinarily inventive full-back Leif Davis and the always dangerous forward Conor Chaplin.
But whether or not the Tractor Boys get promoted at the end of the season, there will undoubtedly be some players leaving Portman Road at that point.
Sone Aluko, 35, has battled to get playing time since the team’s elevation to the Championship. Last season, when the team gained promotion from League One, he was only named in McKenna’s starting lineup four times. It appears that Sone Aluko will be leaving the Tractor Boys at the end of the current campaign.
We anticipate the following two players to accompany Aluko as they go through the Portman Road exit:
Janoi Donacien
Prior to the 2018–19 season, the Saint Lucia international initially signed a loan agreement with the Tractor Boys, then in January 2019, the Suffolk team officially signed him.
Following his permanent relocation to Portman Road, he played on loan at Acrington Stanley for the remainder of the 2018–19 season before making 22 appearances for the Tractor Boys in the 2019–20 campaign.
Donacien, though, returned to Fleetwood Town on loan for the 2020–21 campaign before starting to play a more consistent role for the Tractor Boys in the 2022–23 and 2021–22 seasons.
| Janoi Donacien 2022/23 League One stats | As per FotMob |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 38 |
| Starts | 29 |
| Tackles won | 33 |
| Duels won | 108 |
| Interceptions | 31 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 4 |
The defender started three games for McKenna’s team at the start of the current campaign, but he has struggled with injuries this year and is currently recovering from surgery.
The Tractor Boys may decide not to extend Donacien’s contract, which is scheduled to expire at the end of the current campaign following the one-year extension the defender signed prior to the current campaign, given his age of thirty and apparent injury risk.
Dominic Ball
After spending three years at QPR, the former Tottenham player signed with the Tractor Boys in the summer of 2022. Despite this, he only made four starts in the team’s title-winning campaign.
Ball has not been a consistent member of McKenna’s squad this season either, and he would prefer to play in more games than he is getting at Portman Road.
Similar to Donacien, Ball signed a two-year contract with the Tractor Boys, which expires at the end of the current campaign. Considering his lack of playing time, it is unlikely that the Portman road team will rush to provide Ball a new contract.
Ball’s career might benefit from moving away from Portman Road since he could use more consistent playing time. A new contract with the Tractor Boys does not appear likely, though.
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