Ipswich Town player exit feels likely after £100m jackpot but he must not be forgotten: View

Ipswich Town player exit feels likely after £100m jackpot but he must not be forgotten: View

When Kayden Jackson joined Ipswich Town six years ago, the idea of him leaving

Portman Road with the club poised to embark on a Premier League journey seemed unlikely.

The transfer to Suffolk coincided with both the club’s worst and best periods in recent history,

with one relegation and two promotions since leaving Accrington in 2018.

From Morecambe to Manchester United in two years,

the Tractor Boys have been through a lot, and Jackson has seen it all, both good and bad.

With fewer than two months left on his current contract with East Anglia,

it appears like he will be moving on to pastures new in the summer,

but his place in Town’s history will be remembered, with his performances helping to spearhead the club’s recent rise through the ranks.

Kayden Jackson embodies Ipswich Town’s revival.

Jackson is a player who has been there and seen it all during his time as a footballer,

with spells in non-league at the outset of his career preparing him for the ups and downs that come with the game.

After spells at Tamworth and Wrexham, the striker regained his feet in the EFL with a move to Barnsley,

before becoming a fixture at Grimsby Town and Accrington Stanley.

Stanley’s 16 goals in 45 matches in the 2017/18 season turned the minds of the powers that be at Portman Road,

with the attacker joining the club ready to begin on his first season in the second tier.

Despite his excitement and ambition, Jackson’s first effort at Championship football did not go as planned,

with three league goals in a disastrous season that resulted in relegation to the third division.

The club and player remained together in the third division,

with the frontman becoming into a player who pulled others into the game and served as a focal point for assaults rather than a goal scorer.

That’s not to say he didn’t have his challenges,

with then-manager Paul Lambert reportedly sending him to train with the young squad for a while in 2021 after a series of clashes.

Kayden Jackson Ipswich Town league stats
Appearances	172
Starts	81
Minutes played	7,974
Goals	24
Assists	15
As of May 14th, 2024. Source: FBRef

Kieran McKenna’s arrival, however, was a turning point in both the player’s and the club’s fortunes,

with the Northern Irishman getting everyone on the same page shortly before Christmas that year.

27 appearances from the bench during the Tractor Boys’ League One promotion campaign demonstrated McKenna’s high regard for him,

with his experience and nous in the final third assisting his team in claiming important points and clinging on to victories when necessary.

Jackson had a similar narrative in the Championship this season, with only nine starts to his 20 game appearances,

but it doesn’t mean he didn’t have an impact on Town’s promotion.

Finding the equaliser in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Sunderland in January helped Ipswich regain their form following a difficult festive period,

with his clinical finish triggering the turnaround at Portman Road and putting them back on track to keep the dream alive.

It would be unsurprising to see a slew of Championship clubs bid for the striker whenever his stint in Suffolk comes to an end,

given his footballing savvy, which has helped his side numerous times in recent years.

Holding up play, bringing others into the equation, and winning priceless territory;

Jackson does it all with such grace that any team with big expectations in the second division next season would see him as a real asset,

much like Ipswich  have done for more than half a decade.

Kayden Jackson’s passionate homage to Ipswich Town after their promotion

Jackson may be going in the summer, but he is now Ipswich’s longest-serving player,

therefore no one will grasp the significance of the club’s Cinderella journey through the Football League like him.

After enduring the disgrace of relegation and fighting back over the following five years to where they are now,

the striker was naturally emotional when Premier League football was guaranteed earlier this month.

He stated, “After everything we’ve been through over the last five or six years,

to be here today and say we’ve secured promotion to the Premier League is incredible.”

“To have witnessed all that happened, been a part of it, and worked through it, I’m just grateful that I’m still here.

“You never know what will happen in football.” There has been a lot of change and effort over the years, but to be here now makes it all worthwhile.

“I’ve been in and around good groups and successful groups, but no group as good as this and as together as this.”

If it is a farewell, it will be a fond one for all sides during the summer,

with Jackson’s career revitalised by his time in Suffolk, and Town in the finest position they have been in a century.

Jackson may not have the glitz and glamour of some of his teammates,

but he deserves his moment in the spotlight just as much as anyone else at Portman Road this year;

he should be remembered for his selflessness and desire throughout his time with Town, with a work rate second to none week in and week out.

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