Ipswich Town show loan interest in Bristol City’s Szmodics

Ipswich Town have expressed an interest in signing Bristol City attacking midfielder Sammie Szmodics on loan in January, we understand.

The 24-year-old left Colchester in the summer to move to Ashton Gate for an undisclosed compensation fee, but has struggled for regular football, making just two starts in all competitions.

The Blues are understood to have tentatively made their interest known, along with other clubs in League One, but there is thought to be stronger interest coming from Championship sides at this stage. Huddersfield and Hull have been linked.

City manager Lee Johnson is yet to decide whether the midfielder, who operates primarily as a No.10 but can also play in a wide striker role, will be available for loan given he is on the fringes of the first-team but still very much in consideration and just an injury or two away from a place in the starting XI.

If a temporary switch is ratified, it's more likely a Championship move would appeal to Johnson given the fact playing regular second-tier football would help Szmodics hit the ground running when he returns to Bristol in the summer.

A move to Suffolk would certainly appeal to Szmodics, given the size of the club and the proximity to his long-time home in north Essex, but any such move would require Ipswich to firm up their interest and the switch to be ratified by Johnson.

In total, Szmodics scored 40 goals in 162 games for Colchester, with 15 of those coming in his final season with the U's prior to his move to the Championship in the summer.

Speaking this week, Town boss Paul Lambert admitted any recruitment during the winter transfer window could depend on departures from Portman Road.

"You're always wanting to add, you always do," he said. "If one or two guys go, you maybe need to try and replace them. Whether the money is there I'm not so sure.

"As I said the other day, I wouldn't expect to be able to say we're going to spend x amount of money. We don't have it.

"If we sell one of the guys would that help? Probably. The club only has one investor, where does it stop? It's impossible to have that investment year in and year out. It's got to stop somewhere.

"And that's why the kids are really important to the club because you have to give them time to develop if you're not going to go and spend money."