Goalkeeping coach Jimmy Walker wants to see young goalkeepers Adam Przybek and Harry Wright make their case during the 2020/21 season.
As things stand the youngsters, 20 and 21 respectively, are behind only Tomas Holy in the Ipswich Town pecking order, with the Czech stopper the only senior goalkeeper at the club.
The Blues may still opt to bring in a second senior goalkeeper this summer, should the club’s budget allow, but if there is not a new addition Walker wants to see his young keepers push Holy for a starting spot.
“We’ve got a great group and I’ve said to the two younger ones that they need to be pushing to be the No.2 next season,” Walker said. “If they reach those levels by the end of pre-season then why not?
“You need to have the trust from the manager and then, after you do well in pre-season, we have a good group. But if we feel they’re not quite ready then maybe there are options we can look at as well.
“You have to have two goalkeepers at least pushing for that No.1 spot. Especially at a club like Ipswich.”
Wright missed much of last season with a knee injury, from which he’s now recovered, leaving the door open for youngster Przybek to start in the EFL Trophy at Peterborough following his summer arrival from West Brom.
The young Wales international looked calm and assured at London Road, saving two penalties in the shootout win, with his progress during his first year in Suffolk impressing Walker and his fellow coaches.
“He’s been an absolute bonus for us,” Walker said.
“We took him as a kid really for his potential but he came in from West Brom and we liked him, although there was a lot of work needing to be done.
“I thought it would take two or three years to get him anywhere near to be honest but he’s worked really hard. He thinks about the game and really wants to do well – we have a great group like that.
“But he’s really come on. We took him for the Under 23s to see what could happen but he’s done really well and has pushed the other two.
MORE: McGoldrick’s ‘living a dream’ during Ipswich Town’s nightmare... but it was still the right decision to let him leave“When the Peterborough game came along I had no hesitation in telling the gaffer I would throw him in. He (Paul Lambert) said that if he did well it was his credit but if he wasn’t up for it then I would take the blame... that’s how it usually works.
“The manager has seen a lot of his work in training and has seen how far he’s come, which is great for him.
“Just before we had to shut down he’d taken on the first spot in the Welsh Under 21s and was going to play in the games coming up, which would have been really important for him and shows how far he’s come on.”
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