Championship defender has had his head turned amid emerging links to Leeds United, and fans aren’t pleased

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Leeds United could spend big this summer. And one player they might spend a chunk of money on is Ipswich Town’s Dara O’Shea.

Daniel Farke is a man on a mission this summer. Despite guiding his Leeds United side to the Championship title last season, there were immediate reports that Leeds United wanted to sack Farke ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

He’s kept his job for the time being. But he’ll know that a poor summer transfer window and a poor start to the 2025/26 season could see him named as the first managerial casualty of the season.

Leeds United have a £150million transfer kitty for this summer and Farke looks set to spend all of it, potentially even on just a handful of players with frees and loans likely to prove very important in shaping Leeds’ summer.

Defence is an area that desperately needs new names and Dara O’Shea is a new target for Farke. Recent reports have revealed how Leeds United are interested in bringing O’Shea to Elland Road this summer, following his £15million move from Burnley in the summer of 2024.

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Dara O’Shea opens up on his Ipswich Town future amid Leeds United links

Leeds aren’t alone in their pursuit of Republic of Ireland international O’Shea this summer. It’s also understood that Burnley and Wolves are also keen on signing the 26-year-old who played 35 times in the Premier League for Ipswich Town in 2024/25.

And speaking recently, former West Brom man O’Shea has spoken out on his future at Ipswich Town. But he’s not exactly shut down rumours of a potential Portman Road exit, saying: “I’m fully committed to Ipswich at the moment. I’ve got another four years there and I want to get the club back into the Premier League. I’m ambitious as a player.

“Obviously I want to be playing in the Premier League but I know it’s not that easy. Whatever happens in football it happens for a reason. You have a journey and you’ve got to stick to that sometimes.”

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Ipswich Town fans aren’t happy at Dara O’Shea comments

On the surface, it seems like O’Shea has ruled out leaving the club this summer. But Ipswich Town fans have dug a bit deeper and they’ve honed in on O’Shea’s line of being ‘fully committed to Ipswich at the moment‘. To fans, that means one thing: he’s open to leaving this summer.

“What do you mean ‘at the moment’?” asked one Ipswich Town fan on social media. Another asked: “How many moments?”

Others piled in, too. One Ipswich Town fan posted: “That’s a 50-50 answer, could stay could go.” Another similar comment read: “‘At the moment’… Everything changes in a moment.”

This fan added: “‘At the moment’ which means not fully committed.”

Ipswich Town spent £125million on transfers in 2024/25. Some of it was money well spent and much of it wasn’t. O’Shea was one of their shining lights though, so McKenna might do all he can to keep the Irishman at the club for next season where the Tractor Boys will mount a promotion push.

But O’Shea’s comments could hint at him being open to the right move, and Leeds United handing him a Premier League lifeline could be an attractive option for O’Shea, who says he wants to be playing in the top flight.