Ipswich must rue losing the "best CB outside of the top five leagues"

Ipswich Town have the distraction of the FA Cup to overcome on Monday when facing off against Nottingham Forest, with a surprise win at the City Ground no doubt boosting the Suffolk side’s bruised confidence.

Indeed, last time out in the Premier League saw the Tractor Boys lose dramatically to a Manchester United team reduced to ten men for all of the second half, leaving Kieran McKenna‘s men deep in relegation trouble.

His lowly team’s defensive fragilities have been their undoing all campaign long – even when his team have looked competent in forward areas – with January loanee Ben Godfrey failing to add any needed stability when thrown into action at the back.

Ben Godfrey’s poor displays for Ipswich

Of course, it’s not all down to the Atalanta loanee as to why Ipswich have leaked so many goals this season, with the Tractor Boys shipping a concerning 57 strikes.

To add context, only Leicester City and Southampton occupying the bottom two spaces have given up more goals, but Godfrey has been responsible for ten of those hitting the back of the net from his limited game-time.

The ex-Everton defender had a hellish debut back on English shores versus Manchester City, with his relegation-threatened side losing 6-0 to the reigning top-flight champions.

Godfrey would last 64 minutes, but in that time he was on the pitch, he failed to register a single tackle, interception or block, with the Man City attackers surging forward with a certain swagger knowing the 27-year-old was way off the pace.

He was equally run ragged last time out at Portman Road when Ange Postecoglou’s rejuvenated Tottenham Hotspur came to town, with both of Spurs’ opening strikes in the mainly one-sided affair coming from Heung-min Son twisting and turning the ropey number 44 for fun, who only lasted one half of football this time around.

Ipswich must wish they could turn back the clocks to when they had this other loanee in defence, who has since gone on to cement himself as a staunch option for his current club on Europe’s biggest stage.

Former Ipswich loanee now one of the best in Europe

Ipswich has been home to a number of top loanees over the years, with the likes of Omari Hutchinson calling the club a temporary sanctuary last season, before then penning a permanent deal before the 2024/25 campaign got underway.

The relegation candidates must rue not winning the permanent signature of Cameron Carter-Vickers now, however. Indeed, the defender has gone from strength to strength since exiting Suffolk in 2018 after making 17 appearances in blue.

The USA international would show signs of his class during his brief loan stint at the club – with a respectable five clean sheets picked up in league action – but it’s safe to say he’s transformed into a crucial part of the Celtic jigsaw ever since making the switch to Glasgow from Tottenham.

From 23 league appearances this campaign, Carter-Vickers has helped himself to a hefty 13 clean sheets on top of averaging 5.6 duels won on average per contest.

However, it was in the Champions League against an intimidating Bayern Munich attack that he would win the tag of being the “best centre-back outside of the top five leagues” by the Athletic’s Alex Barker.

Looking at the table above, it’s clear that Carter-Vickers isn’t fazed by the bright lights of the big occasion – unlike Godfrey – with a valiant effort put in by the 27-year-old across both legs, even if Brendan Rodgers’ Bhoys did bow out as 3-2 losers on aggregate.

Previously hailed as “brilliant” for his efforts in Scotland by ex-Rangers player Andy Halliday, Ipswich would love to have Carter-Vickers back in his current pomp to shore up their porous defence.

But, they’ll have to make do with what they already have, hopeful that strong performances will come in their battle to beat the drop.

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