Ipswich Town loanee Finn Barbrook will go back to Portman Road this winter window, as revealed by Jez George on our exclusive podcast last night.
We recorded with Jez and Liam Scully last night, and we broached the subject of our current loan players. Finn is with us from Ipswich Town, Dexter Lembikisa from Wolves, Frankie Okoronkwo from Everton and Justin Obikwu from Coventry City.
All four arrived in a flurry towards the end of the window, and Jez not only discussed their future, but also the reasoning behind their arrivals at Sincil Bank in the first place.
“We brought Finn Barbrook in because we knew that Dom Jefferies was a medium-term injury,” he said. “We didn’t expect him back till November. The same with Frankie, with Jack Moylan.
“Jack’s back. Dom’s back. So, assuming nothing dramatic happens between now and the first of January, they’re both situations that we’re going to look at.”
The Finn Barbrook situation isn’t quite as straightforward, as it’s likely Ipswich would want him to go back out on loan when he does go back. That is another factor in our thinking in terms of team selection right now.
“Finn hasn’t had any minutes with us in the league, but he played minutes for Ipswich in the Carabao Cup. When you play in the EFL Trophy, it doesn’t count towards the two-club rule per season.
“We’ve made an agreement with Ipswich. Finn’s got a knock. He could possibly be fit for that last week of December. But realistically, that’s not right for us to stop him then going on loan somewhere else in the second half of the season.
“So Finn will go back to Ipswich.”
It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of the young midfielder, but with Tom Bayliss and Conor McGrandles locking down the midfield roles, and Ivan Varfolomeev waiting in the wings, it was always going to be difficult for him to get regular minutes.
The same goes for Dexter Lembikisa, who has probably seen more football for Jamaica this season than he has for the Imps.
“Dexter was just a loan to the first of January. So that will end after we play Huddersfield,” confirmed Jez.
Finally, Frankie Okoronkwo and Justin Obikwu have both been in the side. Frankie came in as cover for Jack Moylan, but given the recent injuries to Ben House and James Collins, it does mean the club are looking closely at the best way to deal with the Everton man.
“Frankie’s one we’re assessing because of new injuries in other positions at the top end of the pitch, and Justin’s one that we committed to for the season, and we really believe he’s got a big impact to play.”
You can find the rest of the hour-long show on all the usual podcast channels and on our YouTube channel later today.
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