When the first ball is kicked to start Ipswich Town's mission to stay up in the Premier League next season, this will be the first time the Tractor Boys have tasted football in the elite division since the close of the 2001/02 campaign.
George Burley was the iconic manager in the dug-out at the time, managing to steer the Suffolk-based side to fifth in the Premier League standings before relegation occured, and the new top-flight outfit will hope Kieran McKenna can be their next legendary boss in the top league akin to the Scotsman if he doesn't walk away in the off-season unexpectedly.
Ipswich won't go through a whole host of players in the summer you imagine, having stuck by their successful model in League One moving up to the Championship, with Luke Woolfenden raring to go and succeed again having been in and around the Portman Road ranks since 2017.
The 25-year-old, who would have been just three years of age when Ipswich were last positioned in the top-flight, has been there through all the recent ups and downs in Suffolk before the surreal success story got underway and continues to go from strength to strength with two promotions in his back pocket now under McKenna's guidance.
Luke Woolfenden's rise at Ipswich
Given his first-team debut by divisive ex-Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy back in 2017, Woolfenden's rise has been a slow and gruelling one from his perspective.
The homegrown centre-back would only make five first-team appearances during his first two full campaigns pulling on a Tractor Boys jersey, before starting to leave an impression on the men's team during Ipswich's collapse all the way down to League One.
1. GK – Bartosz Bialkowski
2. RB – Jordan Spence
3. CB – Adam Webster
4. CB – Luke Woolfenden
5. CB – Jonas Knudsen
6. LB – Myles Kenlock
7. CM – Tristan Nydam
8. CM – Callum Connolly
9. RM – Ben Folami
10. LM – Mustapha Carayol
11. ST – Martyn Waghorn
Woolfenden is the only surviving member of the XI from his debut clash now, going on to become a main first-team presence during Ipswich's stint in the third tier.
It wouldn't be until McKenna's emergence onto the scene that his spot would become set in stone for good however, with 87 league appearances managed three seasons on the trot in the league before the ex-Manchester United man arrived, which has resulted in his transfer value skyrocketing – according to Football Transfers.
Now, the 25-year-old has only missed ten league games over the last two campaigns and will want to remain as important to the Ipswich cause for the foreseeable, even whilst the underdogs make the colossal leap up to the Premier League.
Woolfenden's season in numbers
The defenders at Portman Road have, arguably, not been given their moment in the spotlight this season with the full-throttle nature of McKenna's men going forward meaning the attackers will always steal the plaudits – with 92 goals scored in total across 46 games.
Still, the likes of Woolfenden and his frequent partner in the heart of defence, Cameron Burgess, have been equally as important, with the 25-year-old living up to his label as a "leader" by his manager which was given to him just this February before promotion was officially sealed.
Passes attempted
61.50
67.64
Pass completion %
87.8%
81.7%
Tackles
0.92
0.66
Interceptions
1.15
1.29
Blocks
1.25
1.34
Clearances
3.79
4.84
Aerials won
1.77
4.04
Complementing each other well at the back, with Woolfenden the more measured operator on the ball – when looking at the table above – compared to the brute strength of his ex-Accrington Stanley teammate, the Ipswich Academy graduate will hope he can hack the step-up to the top-flight after excelling in the two divisions below.
The dependable Tractor Boys number six demonstrated his calmness under pressure on the final day against Huddersfield Town, picking up his 14th clean sheet of the season in the 2-0 win, whilst also only misplacing five of his 64 passes as his boyhood club pulled off the unthinkable to finally return to the Premier League.
He won't want to stop here though, eager to keep progressing at a club very much on the rise, after not feeling that secure about his future in Suffolk before McKenna's arrival onto the scene.
The 6 foot 4 warrior's transformative arc in becoming one of the first names on the Ipswich team sheet has coincided in his transfer value also going through the roof, with his valuation – at this current moment in time – making him worth three times more than Wes Burns, who has shone for the promotion-winners in his own right this season alongside Woolfenden.
Woolfenden's transfer value in 2024
Woolfenden actually boasts the tag of being the most valued asset in the jubilant Ipswich camp at the moment, according to Football Transfers, with his valuation sitting pretty at a handsome £7.2m.
To add further context to his hefty price tag, Woolfenden's defensive teammate in Leif Davis – despite picking up a monumental 21 assists from left-back – is worth nearly £3m less at £4.8m.
Burns also finds that his valuation pales into insignificance when glanced at side-by-side with the centre-back's, worth just £2.3m despite opening the scoring on the final day to calm any nerves that Ipswich might slip up against the Terriers.
The Welshman's ten goal contributions from 38 games overall this campaign shows off his importance in Ipswich moving up to the top-flight regardless of this low estimated value, but with his 30th birthday coming towards the end of the calendar year, he doesn't arguably have the same time on his side that Woolfenden has to blossom into an even better talent.
Once only valued in the £800k region back in 2020, Woolfenden will hope he doesn't crash back to reality when lining up to face the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City next season, and he can just continue riding this wave of success for as long as he possibly can.
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