Midfielder Flynn Downes has signed a new contract with the Blues which runs to the summer of 2020.

The 18-year-old only put pen to paper on his first pro deal with the club at the end of last month - a one-year contract with an option for a further season - but has greatly impressed manager Mick McCarthy in pre-season.

The Brentwood-born academy product began to break into the first-team squad at the end of last season and he was included as a sub for the final game at Nottingham Forest, although without making it on to the field.

“All-round, technically he’s a really good footballer, he’s athletic, he puts his foot in, he’ll compete, he’s a real competitor and he’s a winner on the pitch," McCarthy said after the Forest match.

“He comes over and he shows no respect for the first team, he comes and dumps them on their backsides if they need dumping on their backsides. I love that about him."

Speaking after the 5-0 friendly win at Drogheda recently, he added: "I really do like Flynn Downes, I think he’ll contribute this season."

Last night the Town boss described Downes's performance at Peterborough as "excellent".

The player himself is targeting involvement in the first team once the season proper gets under way.

"I'm really delighted to sign; I've put in a lot of hard work and I feel like it's been rewarded," he told iFollow Ipswich.

"It's been a really hard pre-season so far, mentally and physically, but I'm feeling good.

"The more senior members of the squad, like Chambo [Luke Chambers] help a lot. They give you a lot of advice but first-team football is a lot quicker.

"It's encouraging to see others come through and play for the first-team so it has pushed me on even more because I want to get to that level."

Former Blues midfielder Kieron Dyer, recently appointed the club's assistant U16s coach, worked with Downes during his previous stint coaching in the academy and is a big fan.

“Flynn, two years ago he was in my U16s, again he had great potential but was a bit behind Andre [Dozzell] and Tristan [Nydam] at the time," he told TWTD at the weekend.

“But he’s come on leaps and bounds. In pre-season I hear he’s been absolutely flying, winning all the long distance races, he was ahead on all the running stats and in training in Ireland I heard he was outstanding, which is good for him and he’s another one to look out for."

📽️ | Talented #itfc midfielder, Flynn Downes, has spoken of his delight at penning a three-year contract at Portman Road... pic.twitter.com/JM6DzU3D6P– Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) July 19, 2017

Photos: Larry McQuillan/Drogheda United/ITFC

BlueandTruesince82 added 21:44 - Jul 21 Again I ask where is your evidence? I can't digest what you haven't presented can I? All you offered is opinion.... see the figures in the link? The one that's breaks down mins played by young players? That's the only piece of fact that's been offered by anyone You present me with anything other than your opinion (which flies in the face of the only evidence currently submitted) and I'll consider it. Until then the only person ignoring anything of merit is you. This entire thread is about whether Mick gives youth a chance and the only person that doesn't seem to follow that is you. For some reason you want to talk about if Micks style of play suits one player. Well it remains to be seen really as you point out the lad scoresd goals so maybe it does? Alternatively Engalnd Youth seem him as a holding player so perhaps even more so? That's can't really be commented on yet as Dozzell is just breaking through but again my point as the table shows he has more chance of getting game time here than almost any other club. Micks reputation for not liking youth is debunked. Easy. Try again without being condescending?

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BlueandTruesince82 added 21:47 - Jul 21 It's like talking to a creationist
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midastouch added 22:35 - Jul 21 Mick's not been much of a creationist packing our midfield with dry cement like Skuse and Douglas. Last season we had our worst finish for 58 years. That's what happens when you play half your team out of position as well as sell your main striker and replace him with a 10k giraffe! And he took the biscuit out of the fans. How he's still in a job after such an awful season of failure, as well as showing utter contempt towards the fans (who dared to question his prehistoric methods!) is totally beyond belief! He's been given another chance to put it right (he's seriously lucky to have been given that IMO) so hopefully things will come good but I know one thing, he's going to be unbearably arrogant if they do because he was arrogant when we were hardly winning a match so imagine what he'll be like if we suddenly start to win a few! His head will be swelling so big that he'll want the keys to Ipswich. According to the record books McCarthy is our worst manager in 58 years, fact not fiction. So there's all the evidence anybody should need! Pre season we've beaten some Droggy Posh Shrimps and suddenly there seems to a swelling of false hope that Mick the Messiah is suddenly going to take us back into the promised land! While I certainly like the look of Celina (and Garner could be a surprise package), I'm afraid with Mick pulling the strings I'm still not over confident about our chances next season. We should of got that guy from Holland, in fact I'd of put just about anybody in Mick's place. Gary Lineker might be available soon, he's prob on the same wages as Mick and at least he can talk a good game! :-) Whatever he does this season he totally alienated a lot of the hardcore fans with antics last season, it's going to be a long road back from that. There are lines a manager shouldn't cross and I'm afraid Mick over stepped them on more than one occasion last season with his flippant, foolish and disrespectful comments. He looks at fans that question him with disdain. Yet here's the man that said repeatedly that Douglas was different class but now it seems he'll be lucky to be playing for Lowestoft next season! Mick Mugabe is fit for one thing and that's a Banana Republic! In fact I wish somebody would put him in an inflatable banana and fill it with helium and float him off somewhere where the sun don't shine such as Norwich!

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midastouch added 22:42 - Jul 21 Sorry folks, couldn't resist putting my 2 pence worth in! It does seem though that Mick is suddenly back in vogue some which is puzzling given we had our worst season in over a generation! Surely he's got to do a lot more than just win a few run of the mill pre-season matches before we start singing from the rooftops!? I know it's nice to be optimistic pre-season but it's hard to be fully invested when the man at the helm blatantly takes the biscuit out of long-time suffering Town fans at just about every available opportunity!

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BlueandTruesince82 added 23:00 - Jul 21 Well to a point I agree with that but I maintain Keane and Jewel were worse. The football ain't pretty buy it until least season it got results (ish) and after losing every week I could live with that. He saved us from relegation and has steadied us through lean times.. The average agr of the squad has gone down under him and we are seeing at last a core of young players that we all hope will break through in the next couple of seasons..... But he has taken us as far as he can and it is time for a change but short of a return to the top 6 surely this is is final season with us.

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warktheline added 09:38 - Jul 22 Blue and true, you're either at best, unwilling ,or at worst, incapable of acknowledging evidence that contradicts your piece of lazy journalism! Presenting stats is all well and good, but you have to be able to take a close look at the finer details that have contributed to such figures! No one with any common sense could refer to McCarthy as a 'youth promoter'. To date you've mis read two of my previous posts, the latter on Dozzell scoring goals!!!!!!! @midatouch, well said and very good post....it's a shame when you read reaction to such posts " he's better than Jewel and Keane...and he saved us from relegation"! Give me strength !

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BlueandTruesince82 added 13:36 - Jul 22 I'm sorry didn't you say "McCarthy plays him, goals are scored, then bang!" If you forgot you can 're read it on page 2. What final detail do you refer to? What evidence am I ignoring. You keep offering your opinion but that is not evidence is it? I suggest you use a dictionary look up the difference between evidence and opinion. Keep sellling the snake oil if you want but it doesn't matter how much of it you rub in, your winky won't get any bigger. My stats are still the only actual offering of anything to support anyone's (my) opinion so I rather suggest until you offer up something similar it is you who is being lazy (or are you struggling to find something) Here's a question? Where where we when Mick tool charge? Where did we finish that season? Would you really swap Mick for either Keane or OK to come back? If so I think you are a blinded by your own prejudice. Did Keane get us near the play offs? No. Did Jewel? Let's throw some more stats your way since you love them so.... All from manager stats .co.uk RK win % at Town 34.57% PJ 34.12% Mick 37% And that's on a shoestring budget vs the other 2. See what I did there I offered facts to back up my argument... Try it sometime

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midastouch added 17:42 - Jul 22 I think you could make an argument that PJ and RK were equally as bad as MM, I guess it's a bit like comparing Tesco Value with Asda Smart Price! Our last half-decent manager was Jim Magilton IMO. In hindsight he definitely deserved more time. At least he tried to play the game properly much more in keeping with the Ipswich tradition and we did beat Norwich with him in charge (massive plus point!) and yet he was sacked for the privilege, what a kick in the teeth for such a great servant of the club. And he was keen on more creative players. He was even signing players from South Amercia. Our current manger would never be so imaginative. It's been downhill ever since Magilton apart from our semi final run in the League Cup. I'm not saying JM was a superb manager as we finished outside the play offs but compare what he did to what we have now. And the season we finished in the Play Offs under Mick McCarthorse (that's what all the Norwich fans call him by the way!) was a disaster because we ended up getting beat by Norwich. I honestly wished Derby had of won their last game of season and saved us the agony and humiliation of losing to Norwich in such a big match!

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BlueandTruesince82 added 18:14 - Jul 22 Well Midas it's true he's a pick from a bad bunch but despite what week the line thinks happened he did take us from rick bottom to mud table safety and he did get us to the play offs. That plus win % gives him an edge.. For context even John Duncan managed 44%. As for Magilton, totally agree. Said it at the time. Deserved another season. I understand the Keane appointment given how he scared Sunderland at the table but never liked it. Thought PJ would do alright, I was wrong on that on one.

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BlueandTruesince82 added 18:17 - Jul 22 Magilton at 37% too.
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midastouch added 21:33 - Jul 22 That's mad that JD managed 44%, when you think he gets a fair bit of flack for his time at Ipswich that's not actually as bad I thought! Still didn't feel that good at time though lol! :-)
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