Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy says he will know when any of the club’s talented youngsters are ready for the Blues’ first-team, having allowed young striker Ben Morris to join National League side Woking, on-loan, this week.

Morris (17) has netted 12 times for the club’s under-23s side this season, but has yet to make his senior debut and joins Monty Patterson and Kundai Benyu in non-league, at Braintree and Aldershot respectively.

“I know people sit at home and they see we have players go out on loan, Monty Patterson goes out on loan (to Braintree) and scores a couple of goals and people say ‘How can you let a goalscorer go’ and all that nonsense.

“Come and watch the U23s, go and watch the games they’re playing in and then come and see the difference to what they have to play in.

“Over the years, over the last 25 years, I’ve been a half-decent judge of whether they should be in and around the first team.”