Ipswich Town may not have a fixture this weekend, with scheduled opponents Coventry City playing in the FA Cup semi-final, but that doesn’t mean there is silence from Portman Road.
With the Suffolk-based side firmly in the race for automatic promotion to the Premier League, Kieran McKenna is using his free time this weekend to plan his squad for next year, even if the Tractor Boys fail in gaining promotion.
One decision that looks likely to be made this weekend is the tying down of current first choice goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky, with the Czech stopper’s contract expiring this summer.
Ipswich Town planning Vaclav Hladky contract extension
As reported by Alan Nixon, via his Patreon, this morning, Ipswich plan on holding onto their towering Czech keeper with a new long-term contract.
Hladky, aged 33, has taken on the number one jersey this season, following two years of bit-part appearances for the club, and having performed admirably for the Tractor Boys, the club want to offer him a stay beyond this summer upon the end of his current agreement.
The plan is to offer the 6ft 2in keeper a three-year deal, which at Hladky’s current age – and considering the division that Ipswich may be playing in next season – may be too good to turn down.
He has been a mightily impressive presence between the sticks this season, keeping 14 clean sheets across 43 matches in the Championship, so Ipswich would do well to keep an experienced – and now important – player around.
Vaclav Hladky has been one of Ipswich Town’s best performers this season
Coming into this season, the Czech-born keeper had played back-up to Christian Walton, making only 24 appearances across the 21/22 and 22/23 seasons combined.
However, following injury to Walton before the start of this season, the typically benched goalkeeper stepped up to fill in between the sticks.
Arguably, he did more than fill in during his first few games though. An impressive performance in his first game against Sunderland followed by a clean sheet during a home victory against Stoke City meant he earned himself the number one spot and ousted the stricken Walton as first choice in the league.
On paper, his stats make for positive reading, and if he were to be leaving on a free this summer against Ipswich’s wishes, he would make for hot property.
