Ipswich Town

The 2026-27 Premier League season has not yet kicked off, but it has already made history.

Nine clubs are set to begin the campaign with a new permanent manager - the highest number ever for the top flight's opening weekend.

The scale of turnover has dramatically reshaped the Premier League's managerial landscape.

The upheaval did not begin this summer. The 2025-26 Premier League season featured 11 managerial changes, with Forest among the clubs to make multiple appointments during the campaign.

The average tenure of a top-flight boss now stands at about 20 months, illustrating just how fleeting life in one of football's most demanding jobs can now be.

Recent history also suggests changing manager offers no guarantees. During the 2025-26 season, several clubs that switched coaches continued to struggle. Forest employed three managers during the campaign, Tottenham changed head coach twice, while Chelsea also altered direction before the season ended.

Others, however, did enjoy an immediate uplift. Michael Carrick averaged 2.6 points per game across his first five matches as Manchester United boss, while Liam Rosenior collected the same return after taking charge of Chelsea. Rosenior's tenure ultimately proved short-lived, though, with the Blues winning just one of his final eight Premier League matches before he was dismissed.

• Read more on a summer of change

Research discussed in the Financial Times,, external external, drawing on findings from Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski, argues that player quality and spending remain stronger predictors of results than managerial changes alone.

Sports consultancy Twenty First Group says coaches often succeed or fail according to the environment they inherit as much as their own abilities.

Since the Premier League began in 1992, only six managers have won the title in their first season in charge of their club.

Mourinho became the first to achieve the feat with Chelsea in 2004-05, before Carlo Ancelotti repeated it with the same club in 2009-10.

Manuel Pellegrini guided Manchester City to the title in his debut campaign in 2013-14, Claudio Ranieri masterminded Leicester City's remarkable triumph in 2015-16, Conte won the league in his first season at Chelsea in 2016-17, and most recently Slot led Liverpool to the championship in his maiden campaign in 2025-26.

With almost half the division beginning the campaign under new leadership, the Premier League enters one of its most unpredictable seasons in recent memory.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

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Nineteen-year-old striker Luca Fletcher joined Ipswich Town on a permanent deal in the summer after a successful loan spell from Manchester City.

While at City, rapid forward Fletcher, an England Under-17s international, helped the club reach the FA Youth Cup final in 2024 and 2025 before impressing at Ipswich, scoring six times in the Premier League 2.

He is yet to play a senior game, but has been training with Ipswich's first team, with new boss Gary O'Neil saying he has been impressed by the youngster.

Town's attacking options look limited with unproven Brazilian striker Emersonn, 22, joining for £24m, and Japan's Daizen Maeda also signing in an £8m move from Celtic.

In the Championship, the centre-forward duties were shared between George Hirst and on-loan Spaniard Ivan Azon.

However, Hirst, an unused member of Scotland's World Cup squad, only scored 11 league goals, while Azon only got five and has returned to parent club Como.

Read more on youngsters to watch at each Premier League club this season

Katharine Sharpe and Simon Casson
BBC Sport senior journalists

The 2025-26 Premier League and Championship seasons included the introduction of squad-cost ratio rules on a shadow basis, testing to see how a spending cap for squad costs set at a percentage of a club's total revenues might work.

These SCR regulations have now been permanently implemented for the 2026-27 season, replacing previous profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

Uefa has a 70% SCR cap for European competitions, so Premier League clubs who qualified for Europe fall in line with this limit.

Clubs who did not qualify for Europe, and so are only taking part in domestic competitions, are capped at 85% of their total revenue.

However, clubs can spend above the 85% limit by using a multi-year rolling allowance of 30%. This allows them to invest ahead of revenue and variance or sporting underperformance.

Every club will start this coming season on 85% + 30% allowance, so effectively 115%.

If a club spends 105% on their squad in 2026-27, it means they have used 20% of their allowance, and for 2027-28 their maximum spend before potential sporting sanction is 95%.

If a club spend less than 85%, they can increase the allowance again to the maximum of 30%.

Spending above 85% but under the allowance results in a financial penalty, whereas going over both the 85% and the allowance will land the club a fixed six-point deduction which increases by one point for every £6.5m spent over the 115%.

'Anchoring' was also trialled in 2025-26, which meant any club's spending could not exceed a multiple of income earned by the bottom-placed club - however this was rejected at a vote of Premier League clubs.

SCR was approved by a vote of 14 clubs to six, and was introduced alongside sustainability and systemic resilience (SSR) regulations.

SSR involves three tests that are applied throughout the season:

Working capital test - assesses short-term cash resources

Liquidity test - assesses medium-term liquidity and resilience

Positive equity test -assesses long-term financial health

The aim of the SCR and SSR regulations is to stop the richest owners providing endless funds to their clubs to sign new players, as any money injected this way does not count as seasonal revenue.

They will also aim to prevent clubs from overspending and accruing unmanageable losses.

Read more about the rules here

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Ipswich Town have completed the signing of Florentino Luís from Burnley, with the midfielder stating the club's long-term thinking was key in attracting him.

The 26-year-old - who already offers Premier League experience - has signed a five-year deal at Portman Road, joining for an undisclosed fee.

"It feels brilliant to be a part of this club," Florentino said.

"I think I will be very happy here. I like how the club sees the future and there are a lot of good players here. How the club is thinking to the long-term is one of the main reasons I came here.

"I can bring experience and balance to the team, between defence and attack, and I like to bring the connection.

"Now I have signed I can't wait to meet my teammates and the fans and get started with the team."

Luis made close to 200 appearances for Benfica before joining Burnley and on bolstering his midfield, Ipswich boss Gary O'Neil said: "We are delighted to have added Florentino to the group.

"He is a player who brings experience of playing in the Premier League as well as other major competitions in Europe, including the Champions League, and makes us stronger in central midfield.

"He brings quality off the ball, as well as on it, and we look forward to him joining up with the squad."

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A second half goal from Chuba Akpom gave Ipswich Town a 1-0 friendly victory over Ligue 1 side, Le Havre.

In a game which saw Ipswich use different teams in either half, Gary O'Neil gave new signings Emersonn, Daizen Maeda, Issa Diop, Abdul Fatawu and Kayne van Oevelen their first game at Portman Road since joining the club.

Abdul Fatawu, who joined Ipswich this summer, created Akpom's goal in the second half by floating a cross into Le Havre's box, which was headed into the top corner by 30-year-old Akpom.

O'Neil said it was a "decent performance" but his side could have "created more chances" against Le Havre, who finished 14th last season in Ligue 1.

"The aim is to get everybody ready for Sunderland," said O'Neil.

"Today was another good step towards that. We are in a good spot now to go into [Rayo] Vallecano, which will be a test, and it will feel more like a real game."

The Tractor Boys have now won four out of five pre-season fixtures and they will next face La Liga side Rayo Vallecano at Portman Road on 8 August (15:00 BST).

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Ipswich Town reporter for the East Anglian Daily Times, Alex Jones, believes Gary O'Neil will not "pull any punches" as he looks for a successful start to his tenure in charge at Portman Road,

The former Wolves and Bournemouth head coach has big shoes to fill after Kieran McKenna announced his departure to spend some time away from football earlier this summer.

However, Jones thinks that by bringing O'Neil in, there will be some continuity for the team and the relationship with the players already appears to be "really good".

Speaking on BBC Radio Suffolk's latest episode of The Blue Hour, Jones said: "I got to speak to him for the first time after the Osasuna game and he's really good.

"He's a really good talker and communicator. I noticed that especially at Colchester, where the press box is, you are near to the dugout and you can see how he's constantly communicating with the players, especially after a flat first half, the second half was a big improvement.

"From my experience of talking to him, he's very honest, very down to earth. He's not going to pull any punches but he makes sure you're up to date. If you ask him questions, he'll give you the extra context and backstory. It all bodes really well. He's a strong communicator."

On O'Neil's relationship with the players, Jones added: "They really seem to like him. I think the relationship seems to be really good.

"I think there's an element of continuation from McKenna. Obviously there are differences and we'll see those on and off the pitch but I think there's not a huge differentiation from what McKenna was tactically but also as a person - someone to talk to and get advice from.

"They could've maybe gone down the route of getting someone not so involved with a reputation but what they have done is gone and got someone who you can tell is really involved on the training pitch and with tactical ideas. I think players benefit from that."

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Everton's English midfielder Tim Iroegbunam, 23, is interesting Hull City, Ipswich Town and Coventry City. (Teamtalk), external

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Should a club build a new stadium or upgrade its current home in a bid to maintain some history? How significant is a new ground in terms of revenue generated? Will it move the needle?

BBC Sport has worked with football finance expert Kieran Maguire to consider the impact a new home has.

Take a look at your club's matchday revenue figures from 2024-25 below and get the full article here.

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Gary O'Neil and Ipswich Town claimed their first pre-season win by securing a 2-1 victory against Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park Stadium.

The Tractor Boys, who played a split-squad double-header on Saturday, fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat against League One outfit Oxford United in their first fixture of the afternoon.

Wycombe forward Emre Tezgel broke the deadlock after 56 minutes, having pounced on goalkeeper Alex Palmer's parried save and struck from close range.

Darnell Furlong almost equalised for Ipswich with 25 minutes to play, but his shot from just inside the box rattled the crossbar.

However, central midfielder Cameron Humphreys was on hand level things up with a right-footed curler before grabbing the winner with a tap-in one minute before full-time.

Summer signings Daizen Maeda and Issa Diop were also handed their first minutes in Ipswich Town colours.

The squad is set to take on Le Havre next at Portman Road on 4 August in a bid to get more minutes in the tank ahead of their Premier League return.

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Ipswich Town continued their winless start to pre-season with a 2-0 defeat by League One side Oxford United at Kassam Stadium.

New manager Gary O'Neil has now failed to win his first three fixtures in charge, albeit pre-season friendlies, after the Tractor Boys were held to a goalless draw by Cartagena and beaten 2-1 by Osasuna.

Kasey McAteer went close to getting the opener straight after half-time with a cross that was deflected onto the crossbar, but Wes Burns could only hit the side netting on the rebound.

However, it was Oxford United defender Jack Currie who found the breakthrough in the 61st minute with an unmarked tap-in at the back post.

The English third-tier side then capitalised on a defensive error to double their lead through Stanley Mills with less than 20 minutes left to play.

Ipswich Town will field a different XI later on Saturday (16:00 BST) when they face Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park Stadium.

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Gary O'Neil's Ipswich Town lost their second pre-season friendly 2-1 against La Liga side Osasuna.

The Spanish side took the lead in the opening five minutes, through a rebounded effort from Miguel Auria.

Chuba Akpom, who joined Ipswich on a permanent deal from Ajax in May 2026, scored a second-half equaliser eight minutes after being substituted on.

However, a fantastic strike from Osasuna's Raul Moro ricocheted off the underside of the crossbar to gift the La Liga outfit a pre-season victory at the JobServe Community Stadium.

O'Neil has now failed to win both his opening two warm-up games after the Tractor Boys were held to a goalless draw against Cartagena, who play in the second-tier in Spain.

Ipswich will face League One opponents Oxford United (12:00 BST) and Wycombe Wanderers (16:00 BST) next on 1 August in a double-header which will see O'Neil select two separate starting teams.

Ipswich Town are eyeing a move for Standard Liege's English defender Henry Lawrence, 24, who previously played for Chelsea. (Football Insider), external

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BBC Radio Suffolk's Graeme McLoughlin and Harvey Bell continue their (3 in 4) Top 5 Ipswich series with a look at Town's best goals scored during the Kieran McKenna era.

The pair both agreed Wes Burns' curling effort with the outside of his foot in a 2-1 win over Coventry at Portman Road in December 2023 was number one.

Nine of the ten outfield players were involved in the build-up before Burns drifted inside to score a beautiful Trivella finish.

"As a team goal, it is exceptional," said Bell.

"I'm not surprised it won Championship goal of the season. He probably should have won the Puskas award, and would have done if Town were playing at a higher level. It went viral everywhere.

"There was the individual brilliance by Burns but the teamwork to get him into that position was fantastic.

"It can't not be number one. It's such a good goal, it's jaw-dropping. Even now I'm still looking at that and thinking how on earth did that happen."

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Leyton Orient have completed a season-long loan deal for full-back Somto Boniface with Premier League-bound Ipswich Town.

The 20-year-old England youth international will join the Os for the 2026-27 campaign and becomes the eighth addition to the roster this summer.

London-born Boniface started his career at Chelsea's academy and moved to the Tractor Boys on a permanent deal during the January transfer window last season, but found a first-team breakthrough difficult.

Head coach Richie Wellens told the club website, external: "Every player we have had from Ipswich has been excellent and I hope that Somto will be the next to join that list.

"He is predominantly a left-back but can play at right-back, too. He is quick, athletic, he can go past people and is the profile of full-back that we want.

"Tactically, he is very adaptable and he adds a lot of pace to the team. I'm really looking forward to working with him."

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Video assistant referees should only be used to change "blatantly incorrect" decisions and clear missed incidents, say European refereeing officials.

Chief refereeing officers from all 55 European national football associations met last week with Uefa refereeing officials and a representative from the International Football Association Board (Ifab) to address recent changes to the game's laws.

Attendees said "lengthy, microscoping reviews" indicate VAR has gone beyond its original scope.

When VAR was added to the laws of the game in 2018 by football's rulemakers Ifab, its "philosophy" was "minimum interference - maximum benefit", with the intention of reducing "unfairness caused by clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents" relating to goals, penalties, direct red cards and mistaken identity.

Uefa said that at its recent meeting that refereeing bosses agreed a return to those original aims is needed.

"It was reiterated that, in accordance with protocol, VAR must only intervene in situations of 'clear and obvious' error, ie. when a referee decision is blatantly incorrect or when the referee has missed a clear incident," Uefa said in a statement.

"VAR is not meant to re-referee the game, it is an essential support to the referees, who must remain at the centre of all decision-making.

"Lengthy, microscoping reviews are often a symptom revealing that the decision on the field was not clearly and obviously incorrect, and should therefore be limited."

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Ipswich Town have signed goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen from Belgian Pro League side Union Saint-Gilloise.

The 26-year-old, who kept 21 clean sheets in 43 appearances last season, has joined the Tractor Boys on a four-year deal.

Scherpen arrives at Portman Road with previous Premier League experience, having spent four years at Brighton - mainly on loan - between 2021 and 2025.

The shot-stopper, who becomes Gary O'Neil's sixth summer signing, has also played Champions League group-stage football in each of the past two seasons.

"This is a very proud moment for me," Scherpen said. "This is a great opportunity for me to show my qualities and test myself in the best league in the world.

"I'm really looking forward to making memories together. I've had great conversations and everything has been really positive, so it has made me very excited to join Ipswich Town.

"I'm looking forward to meeting my team-mates, and I can't wait to meet the fans and get started."

O'Neil added: "He is a strong addition to our goalkeeping unit and we are delighted to have him with us.

"He has experienced playing at the top level in different countries, as well as in European competitions, and he is excited to now have the opportunity to test himself in the Premier League."

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On the latest episode of The Blue Hour, Ipswich Town fan David discussed the club's summer transfer business as they prepare for their Premier League return at the first time of asking.

Speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk, he said he was "very excited" after the club signed Daizen Maeda, Abdul Fatawu and Issa Diop.

David said: "We've just finished watching the World Cup and all of a sudden there are three players from the World Cup who have signed for us. It's exciting. What's not to like?"

"Maeda seemed to gain a new lease of life in the second half of last season under Martin O'Neill, non-stop running, he can play seemingly many positions up front and I think he is going to get more than just the odd goal for us as well."

Japan forward Maeda has joined from Celtic on a three-year contract having won five league titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups during his time in Scotland.

Despite the addition of Maeda, David feels a "bona fide Premier League experienced number nine" will be needed.

See if you agree with what was said. Listen to The Blue Hour below or on BBC Sounds here - and subscribe to the dedicated Ipswich Town page to get all Tractor Boys audio content.

Fulham's 29-year-old Serbia international Sasa Lukic is among the midfield targets for Ipswich Town this summer. (Sky Sports), external

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English football is set to implement a trial to try to eradicate the goalkeeper tactical timeout this season, BBC Sport can reveal.

The Football Association, Premier League, English Football League, National League and Women's Super League have agreed on the measure, pending permission from the International Football Association Board (Ifab).

Earlier this year, Ifab decided against changing the law and invited leagues to volunteer for trials.

Pro Ref, led by chief refereeing officer Howard Webb, has been in discussions with the leagues to determine how to tackle the issue. It settled on a team having to remove an outfield player from the field.

If a referee signals that the physio can come on to treat a goalkeeper, the coach will have 10 seconds to nominate another player to leave the pitch for one minute, telling the fourth official of their choice.

If no player has been selected within 10 seconds, the captain must leave the field.

Read more on the trial

The Premier League return draws closer and transfer needs become all the more pressing.

Join BBC Radio Suffolk's The Blue Hour to hear what fans and experts are saying.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and subscribe to the dedicated Ipswich Town page to get all Tractor Boys audio content.