Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy wants to make sure that Teddy Bishop’s talents aren’t wasted this season.

The Cambridge-born midfielder, 19, has been at the club since the age of eight and burst onto the scene in 2014/15, making 33 appearances as the Blues finished sixth in the Championship table.

Hailed as having ‘Premier League quality’ by McCarthy, Bishop’s twinkle-toed footwork was then missed last season as a combination of shin splints and hamstring problems left him sidelined for virtually the whole campaign. With David McGoldrick and Ryan Fraser also injured, the Blues undoubtedly lacked creative spark.

McCarthy has conceded that Fraser will not be returning on loan from Bournemouth, while Bishop and McGoldrick only returned to action in the last few weeks of last season.

McGoldrick, worryingly, had to sit out last Saturday’s pre-season opener at Irish side Shelbourne with a sore hip, but Bishop showed some encouraging glimpses of his movement, skill and vision when playing on the right side.

With no wingers currently in his squad, McCarthy has said that he might look to use Bishop – usually deployed centrally – out wide come the Championship opener against Barnsley, at Portman Road, on August 6.

“I want to add to the squad, but Bish was excellent in the first half playing from the right and wandering about,” said the Blues boos, speaking after Saturday’s 2-1 win at Tolka Park. “If we haven’t got out and out wingers we’ll do something else and I’m cool with Bish being there – I want Bish in the team anyway.”

Bishop may have lined up on the right of a 4-4-2 system, but he was certainly given the freedom to drift inside and so often took up a No.10 position as right-back Luke Chambers got forward to provide width. It could well be that McCarthy goes with a narrower system going forwards.

“Bish is a fabulous footballer – I love him,” enthused McCarthy, Town playing at League Two side Barnet tonight. “He’s very, very gifted, he glides past people for fun and he can see a pass. It’s lovely to have him back and he might fill that slot on the right-hand side for us – not as a winger, but as a right-sided midfield player.

“There’s no way I’m going to stick him right out there because it would be a waste of him. If you haven’t got what could be described as wide players, you’ve got to adapt and try something else and I think, to be fair, it worked well with Bish.”