Daizen Maeda scored his first Blues goal in the 3-2 defeat to Manchester City (Image: ITFC / Matchday Images)

THE CASE FOR DAIZEN MAEDA

Maeda is the most recent arrival of the three options in this position, but he’s already to feel like part of the furniture at Portman Road.

That’s not to say he’s started his Town career flawlessly, or he’d have the left-sided spot nailed down, but he’s still a big favourite among a lot of fans. He’s humble, motivated, and works incredibly hard for the team.

We see that on the pitch. He’s a relentless runner, undoubtedly the strongest athlete of the three. He’s incredibly fast, but can maintain those speeds for a full 90 minutes.

The 29-year-old is an intelligent player, especially when it comes to his tactical understanding. Yes, he’s obviously versatile and can cover a number of different positions, but he’s really strong off the ball.

He can press with intensity, but also drop deep to do his defensive work. With Leif Davis behind him, they feel comfortable switching up spots, with one overlapping and the other coming in narrower.

On the flip side, his x-factor in the final third might be the weakest of the three. You’d back Maeda to beat anyone for pace, but squaring up and beating his man in the final third is another matter. That’s probably been the let-down so far.

His one goal came from a quick, well-worked counter against Manchester City. It’s hard to think of too many opportunities that he’s had, and the ones that he’s missed have been really frustrating.

Is that outweighed by what his remarkable physical attributes? There’s certainly an argument for it in the Premier League.

His numbers are pretty absurd – 36 miles covered across eight Premier League games, which includes 9.2 miles running and 1.3 miles sprinting, reaching a top speed of 20.8mph.

Jaden Philogene is trying to get back to his best after a disrupted summer (Image: Ross Halls)

THE CASE FOR JADEN PHILOGENE

Last season, Philogene felt every bit a Premier League player. But a summer of transfer speculation and a couple of injuries have changed the narrative surrounding him. It’s sometimes hard to remember that he bagged 13 goals and two assists in the Championship last season.

It feels like he’s the one that has a moment of magic in his locker, perhaps more so than the other two. He’s the one with the skills, tricks and flicks, and the willingness to create something from absolutely nothing.

He’s flashy, and you need that element in a successful team, although Julio Enciso and Abdul Fatawu have it in abundance as well. Can those three click on the pitch? If they do, it could be fireworks, but Friday’s showing against Nottingham Forest has cast real doubts over that.

There’s still quite a bit of concern surrounding Philogene and his performances. I don’t think his body language helps, but at the same time, I’m absolutely certain that his nonchalant style doesn’t come from him not caring. It’s just how he is.

He’s a street footballer at heart. Fun, enjoyable to watch. He wants to entertain. He’s also the touchline-hugging wide man that Gary O’Neil wants.

However, he’s still finding the balance between doing that and doing the non-negotiables needed to be an effective Premier League winger.

How will he go about changing that? I think it comes with game time. Maeda and Clarke have had a full pre-season, plus the start of the campaign, to get used to the demands of the Premier League. Philogene has been thrown in at the deep end after injury.

Can Ipswich afford to give him regular starts when he isn’t performing? The potential reward of having Philogene can’t be ignored, but there’s a worry that it might come as a detriment to the team in the short term.

Jack Clarke has adapted well to life back in the Premier League (Image: Ross Halls)

THE CASE FOR JACK CLARKE

Clarke’s all-round game, in my eyes, sits in between Maeda’s and Philogene’s. It’s a bit of both.

For much of last season, he was the impact sub to Philogene’s starter, but at times it felt like he was the more reliable option, albeit that Philogene’s volatility often provided moments of magic that won games for Ipswich.

Clarke still has that. He’s not quite the same something-from-nothing player, but he’s brave on the ball. He’ll run at defenders, take them on and back himself to dribble past them.

He’s shown that he has the quality to be at this level. Sometimes, when he comes onto the pitch in the final few minutes of games, he makes us wonder why he wasn’t starting in the first place. It’s always easier to play against tired legs, however.

Fans are behind him, he works hard and will always do what’s best for the team.

He certainly isn’t the fastest wide man on Town’s team. In fact, for top speed this season, he sits 15th in the squad (19.4mph). He’s not the kind of player to burn a defender for pace on the counter to get Ipswich up the pitch.

His two league starts have been a bit underwhelming. Yes, he drew the red card at Crystal Palace, but didn’t have a huge impact against them or Everton. His cameos have been much brighter in my opinion.

But it’s a small sample size. Perhaps increased minutes would show that he’s the best option of the three left wingers.

Gary O'Neil has rotated the left wing spot so far this season (Image: Ross Halls)

VERDICT

The honest answer is that the left wing position will probably be chopped and changed over the course of the season, and that I can’t see anyone really nailing down that spot over an extended period.

But if I had to pick one, I’d struggle to go with Philogene in his current form. That’s not me ruling him out full stop, because I know the heights that he can hit, but I think he needs to show it off the bench in the coming weeks to prove that he can do it.

That leaves me choosing between Maeda and Clarke, which is really tricky. I’d probably lean towards Maeda, given the importance of his off-ball work in the first hour or so of Premier League matches, plus the fact that Clarke seems to deliver his best football when he’s brought off the bench. He relishes the super-sub tagline.

The one issue? Having Clarke and Philogene on the bench means that one has to play on the right if you bring them both on, and I don’t feel overly comfortable with either of them in that spot.

But it doesn’t change my opinion that Maeda is the man who should be getting the most minutes on the left.