Ipswich Town FPL Picks 2026/27

Ipswich Town finished 2nd in the Championship 25/26 with 85 points, securing automatic promotion on 2 May 2026. They return to the Premier League after one season in the Championship — a second consecutive promotion attempt, having gone straight back down from the PL in 24/25. The biggest immediate FPL-relevant news for 26/27: Kieran McKenna resigned on 10 June 2026 to step away from management. As of today (15 June, four days before the PL fixtures release), Ipswich are managerless.

Chief executive Mark Ashton has said the replacement appointment will be "swift but thorough." Bookies favourite: Gary O'Neil (currently at Strasbourg, formerly Bournemouth and Wolves), with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Liam Rosenior also in the frame. Until the appointment lands, every Ipswich asset is un-pickable for FPL — the system, intensity, and starting XI are all unknown.

Under McKenna, Ipswich played a structured 4-2-3-1 with high-pressing wide forwards and a possession-heavy build-up. Their 24/25 PL relegation came with a credible goal-difference profile — they conceded the third-fewest expected goals among bottom-half clubs that season. That tactical identity is now gone. The new manager could be anything from O'Neil's mid-block counter-attacking to Solskjaer's possession-direct hybrid to Rosenior's high-pressing 4-3-3.

For Fantasy Premier League managers, the correct read is: do not lock in any Ipswich asset before the new manager is appointed and pre-season minutes are confirmed. The window between today and 19 June fixtures release is the wrong moment to commit to Ipswich exposure. Wait.

Two confirmed transfers in, both pre-McKenna-exit: Chuba Akpom from Ajax (~€4.4m, contract to June 2029) and Cedric Kipré from Reims (~€2.5m, to June 2028). Akpom is the orthodox No. 9 the squad needed — he won the Championship Golden Boot at Middlesbrough in 22/23 with 28 goals before going to Olympiacos and Ajax. At a projected £6.0–6.5m FPL price, he is the most credible Ipswich attacking pick.

Kipré is a defensive depth signing — viable as a £4.0–4.5m bench filler if he locks down a starting role under the new manager. Reported but not confirmed: Jacob Greaves medical from Hull City, plus interest in Callum Wilson and Nick Pope. The squad reshape direction is clear — "spending for survival, echoing the McKenna-era 24/25 approach."

Below Akpom and Kipré, the Ipswich asset most likely to translate to a PL FPL pick is Jack Clarke — 16 Championship goals as a winger in 25/26. Under a possession coach he is a 4-6 PL goal player with 6-10 assists in his ceiling year. George Hirst added 10 Championship goals as the previous No. 9; he likely drops to the bench once Akpom settles.

Importantly: Liam Delap is no longer at Ipswich. He was sold to Chelsea in summer 2025 for £30m, so any FPL guide listing Delap as an Ipswich asset for 26/27 is out of date. The "tracking Delap at Chelsea" angle is the relevant cross-rival narrative for Onside readers.

Bookmakers price Ipswich at 4/6 for relegation — joint third-favourite to drop (alongside Coventry). The implied probability is around 60%. The pundit consensus reflects the manager risk: a squad that has spent in two consecutive promotion cycles, an experienced PL-relegation veteran in McKenna gone, and four weeks until pre-season starts properly.

For FPL: wait for the appointment, then re-rate. Watch Akpom specifically as the budget-mid-bracket striker pick. Avoid Ipswich defensive assets for GW1-5 — the back line under an unknown coach is the squad's biggest unknown. Captain-against Ipswich in any week the model rates them underdogs.