Charlton Athletic’s new signing Scott Fraser was “desperate” to make a January move away from Ipswich Town, Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna has said.
After a difficult first half of the season, Fraser departed Ipswich Town on deadline day to join League One rivals Charlton Athletic.
The Scot had emerged as one of League One’s standout midfielders during his time on the books with Burton Albion and MK Dons, but he was unable to nail down a place in the starting XI during his time at Portman Road.
Now, with a January exit sealed, Tractor Boys boss McKenna has opened up on Fraser’s desire to leave last month.
As quoted by TWTD, McKenna said that Fraser, who never played under the former Manchester United coach’s management, was “desperate” to move on in January. He said:
“I didn’t get the chance to see Scott live in a match or work with him for too long in a short period.
“That was one where Scott was desperate to go, to be honest, from early conversations with him.
“He felt like he hadn’t quite settled at the club how he wanted. He came in in the summer as part of a big recruitment drive and a lot of good players came in here in the summer, and he didn’t feel like he’d managed to settle from the football point of view or the personal point of view how he would have wanted.
“He was very keen and really had a strong desire to go and play somewhere where he felt he was going to be an automatic first choice and wanted to feel like he was the main man at a club.”
McKenna went on to wish Fraser all the best after his move to Charlton, adding that he felt it was only fair to respect the player’s wishes to move elsewhere.
A new challenge…
With his time at Ipswich Town brought to an end, Fraser will be looking to have an impact with Johnnie Jackson’s Charlton Athletic in the second half of the campaign.
After a poor start to the season under Nigel Adkins, Jackson has helped the Addicks rise away from the relegation zone, with the club now sitting eight points clear of the drop in 15th place.
The club currently sit a hefty 14 points away from the play-off spots, so a late push for the play-off spots will take an almighty effort.
Up next for the Addicks is a home tie against AFC Wimbledon, a side who are now nine games without a win in League One.
