Paul Lambert has confirmed Jordan Graham is no longer in his plans at Ipswich Town with the winger’s loan set to be cut short in January.
Graham was brought back to Portman Road for a second loan spell by Paul Hurst in August, having previously been at the club in 2013/14, but has only made four appearances and has not featured at all under Lambert’s management.
The winger is now training with Oxford in a bid to earn a deal when the window opens in January, with Lambert allowing him to move on having previously worked with the 23-year-old at both Aston Villa and Wolves.
Graham was in disciplinary trouble at both clubs for off-field issues, but Lambert played down his past dealings with the player and spoke of clearing the path for young players to progress.
“I can only come in see with my own eyes what I think is right and what I think is wrong and I think we’ve a squad where there’s a lot of players, young ones as well, who I think are going to make an impact sooner rather than later,” Lambert said.
“I just go with my own eye. No ill feeling towards anybody, I’ll pick what I think is right and I’ll always do that.”
“Jordan was only a young kid when I was Aston Villa when I was there and he was out injured a lot at Wolves.”
While he’s training with Oxford he remains registered with Ipswich, with the Blues continuing to pay a proportion of his wages, but Lambert confirmed the loan is set to be cut short in January.
He said: “Yes, likely so because we’ve a lot of players here. “We’ve got young players here who are coming through and they’ve got to have a chance to progress as well.”
Jack Lankester’s rapid progression saw the teenager leapfrog Graham in both Hurst and Lambert’s thinking, with the current Blues boss excited by the Bury St Edmunds youngster’s potential.
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“Jack’s got an incredible touch for the football, he’s a terrific way of playing,” he said.
“He’s only a kid but he’s one young one that I think, ‘Yeah, you could have a massive career’.
“We have to nurture him and give him game time when we think, ‘Go on now and let’s see what you can do’.”
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