Ipswich Town will know that this current Premier League campaign is a marathon and not a sprint, with their main aim obviously being to avoid relegation straight back down to the Championship.
The Tractor Boys couldn’t stave off relegation during the 2001/02 season, however, after iconic former Ipswich boss George Burley had guided the Suffolk side to unbelievably play in the UEFA Cup just the campaign prior.
Burley’s underdogs even faced off against Inter Milan in this competition before their demise down to the second tier, with Kieran McKenna just hopeful that he can get enough out of his troops in the here and now to beat the drop.
Titus Bramble was a promising young defender around the same time Ipswich last fell down to the Championship, with the homegrown Tractor Boys product going on to eventually win himself a big move, after his then employers exited the top-flight.
Bramble’s time at Ipswich
Before he would go on to become a household name in the Premier League – with 292 games in the elite division managed by the time he retired – Bramble would cut his teeth at Ipswich to start off his fledging career.
Bramble would make 61 appearances in total for the Tractor Boys before seeking out pastures new in 2002, with three goals scored from the centre-back along the way, including even memorably scoring in the UEFA Cup.
Despite only featuring 18 times during his side’s relegation season, Bramble would still manage to win himself a bumper move to Newcastle United, costing the Magpies a hefty £6.1m to land his services.
That doesn’t seem too excessive compared to Ipswich’s spending this summer just gone, however, with the newly promoted outfit splurging out around the £15m mark to land Hull City centre-back Jacob Greaves to strengthen at the back for the step-up.
But, if the same deal took place today for Bramble to switch allegiances to Tyneside, the one-time Ipswich prodigy would go for far more.
That can be calculated using Totally Money’s Transfer Index, with the defender coming in as being worth way more than Greaves’ £15m fee, by the standards of today’s inflated transfer landscape.
Bramble’s worth in 2024
According to the Transfer Index, the same deal would cost Newcastle in the here and now an eye-watering £23.4m, far above the £15m forked out to snap up Greaves’ signature recently.
Ipswich wouldn’t have been too gutted about their defender’s exit further down the line, however, considering the amount they actually did sell him on for at the time was substantial, but also the fact Bramble ended up struggling away from Portman Road.
Bramble’s PL career path after Ipswich | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Club played for | Games played | Goals scored | Assists |
Newcastle | 157 | 7 | 2 |
Wigan Athletic | 104 | 5 | 3 |
Sunderland | 51 | 1 | 0 |
Sourced by Transfermarkt | |||
Whilst the former ten-time England U21 international would be a hit with the St James’ Park faithful during his lengthy stay there, with ex-Ipswich great Sir Robby Robson even helping to oversee early development at the Magpies, Bramble won’t be fondly remembered by those on Wearside when he crossed enemy lines to play for Sunderland.
Bramble would end up being released by the Black Cats in 2013 after 51 games, bringing to an end to his Premier League playing days in the process.
Greaves will still take some inspiration from Bramble’s career, however, as he aims to become an established top-flight defender in his own right, having excelled in the second tier with Hull previously.
He has a big price-tag to live up to, but with a clean sheet already under his belt under Brighton and Hove Albion recently, the towering 24-year-old could be key for McKenna going forward as his side aim to stay above the dreaded bottom three spaces in the league.
