Walton signs new Ipswich deal and welcomes three-way fight for the gloves before Fulham clash
Christian Walton has signed a contract extension with Ipswich Town and is in line to keep his place in goal when the Tractor Boys host Fulham at Portman Road on Saturday, with the goalkeeper insisting a three-way fight for the number one shirt is exactly what a Premier League squad needs.
Ipswich made a change between the sticks before the international break, with Walton playing in the 1-0 defeat to Everton and then putting pen to paper on a new deal during the hiatus. He is the favourite to start for Gary O'Neil's side this weekend.
The competition is genuine. Kjell Scherpen started Ipswich's first four games after arriving from Union Saint-Gilloise, only to make a couple of high-profile mistakes in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, while Kayne van Oevelen also joined from Volendam in the summer.
Walton: Competition is healthy
Rather than fret about the queue of goalkeepers behind him, Walton framed it as a strength.
"We've always had a competitive group and the goalkeeping unit is probably the most competitive it has been right now," Walton told the club's website.
"Going into a Premier League season, you need strength in every position, so it was always going to be the case that we would strive for three, four, or five good goalkeepers at the club at a time.
"For me, it's competition and competition is healthy. It helps me improve, and it helps the other goalkeepers improve.
"I want to be a goalkeeper who has played at the highest possible level and that competition helps to push you.
"My goal is to just play as much football as possible for Ipswich Town, but I also want to be good for the squad, a good person at the football club, to help however I can."
Ipswich riding momentum into a 'pivotal' clash
Ipswich emerge from the extended international break 11th in the Premier League table with six points from their opening fixtures, having beaten Sunderland on matchday one and Crystal Palace on matchday four.
Fulham are the visitors on Saturday and arrive as one of three teams yet to taste victory this season, alongside Tottenham and Coventry City. Yet Alvaro Arbeloa's side came mightily close in their final game before the break, conceding a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United.
Arbeloa insisted afterwards that the performances are pointing in the right direction ahead of a crucial run of fixtures against the three promoted clubs.
"I'm so proud of my players. I know that we have only two points, but in the long term, when you are playing in this way, I think you will get what you deserve," Arbeloa said.
"But we need to continue. We knew that this month was going to be hard against top teams – we had Liverpool away, Sunderland away, Manchester United and Chelsea at home.
"So, I think we are improving game by game."
Players to watch
Ipswich Town – Leif Davis. Only Bournemouth's Adrien Truffert (17) and Arsenal's Ben White (11) have made more overlapping runs in the Premier League this season than Ipswich left-back Davis (10). Davis also ranks first among all defenders this season for off-ball runs into the attacking third (52).
Fulham – Josh King. King has been a bright spark during a difficult start to the season for Fulham and leads all players in the Premier League for touches in the opposition box (37). Only Bryan Mbeumo and Julio Enciso (both eight) have recorded more shots following carries this campaign than his six.
Match prediction: Ipswich Town win
Fulham are winless in all four of their Premier League games against Ipswich (D3 L1) — the joint-most times they have faced a side without ever winning in the competition, level with their four meetings with Watford.
Victory would give the Tractor Boys as many as three wins from their first six Premier League games in a season for only the second time, after last doing so in 1993-94. When they were last in the top flight in 2024-25, they needed 19 matches to bring up three victories and went on to be relegated that season.
Fulham (D2 L3) have failed to win their opening five games of a top-flight season for the fourth time, after 1951-52, 2011-12 and 2020-21. They last failed to win six successive league games in a single campaign during their final 10 matches of 2020-21 (D2 L8), when they suffered the drop.
Opta win probability: Ipswich Town 44.8%, Fulham 28.3%, Draw 26.9%.