Deep Dive

Once A Blue – Ali Al-Hamadi

|
Image for Once A Blue – Ali Al-Hamadi

With no play-offs this season, the first month of the summer break can be a real drag for Chairboys fans. So to cure your boredom waiting for action to return to Adams Park, lets go over the careers of some recent Wycombe players since they departed the club in our new segment, ‘Once A Blue’. Where better to start than Ali Al-Hamadi, the Iraqi international striker who endured a rocky time at Wycombe before going on to hit form elsewhere.

Life At Wycombe:

Al-Hamadi arrived at Adams Park from Swansea in November 2021, penning an 18 month contract following a successful trial period. The striker was tipped to be another success story from the Wycombe B team, following in the footsteps of Anis Mehmeti and Chris Forino. During the opening months of his stint at the Blues, Al-Hamadi didn’t feature once in a competitive fixture and was sent out on loan to National League Side Bromley in early March.

Al-Hamadi would make numerous appearances for Bromley but wouldn’t play a full 90 minutes until 30th April, in a 4-2 win over Chesterfield. This game would also see him get off the mark for the club, scoring his first 2 senior goals. Just weeks later, he would score his final goal of his loan spell in another 4-2 win, this time away to Barnet.

The biggest achievement of his loan spell however, was one he didn’t score in. Bromley had made it to the final of the FA Trophy and took on Wrexham at Wembley Stadium. Al-Hamadi played the full 90 minutes and rounded off his loan spell with some silverware, as Bromley beat Wrexham 1-0 to lift the trophy. He ended his loan spell with 3 goals in 10 league appearances, a decent return for someone who had only joined in March.

Ali would return to Wycombe in the summer and be in and around the first team squad. He made his debut for the Chairboys in a 2-1 away victory over Northampton Town in the Carabao Cup, playing 73 minutes on the left-wing. His first League appearance for the Blues would come just a week later, coming off the bench as Wycombe lost 3-1 at Exeter City.

After a few lively cameo’s off the bench in the league, Al-Hamadi would get his big break against Championship side Bristol City in the Carabao Cup. After the Robins took the lead early on, Ali would score his first and only Wanderers goal, heading home in the 50th minute. Wycombe would go on to lose 3-1 but many fans hoped that now Ali was off the mark, the floodgates would open.

Unfortunately, this would never be the case for the Iraqi international. Substitute appearances would be sprinkled around but he would have little impact in any of these. He wouldn’t start for the Chairboys until late December, manager Gareth Ainsworth giving Ali a make or break chance to remain at the club against Plymouth Argyle with January right around the corner. He would only play 70 minutes and again showed nothing that warranted Wanderers giving him the game time he wanted. That would be his final appearance for Wycombe as he joined AFC Wimbledon on a permanent deal in January 2023.

Life After Wycombe:

Initially joining the Dons on a free but with Wycombe holding an ‘invested interest’ in the attacker, a percentage of any future transfer fees Wimbledon received would have to go to Wycombe. Ali signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Dons and looked to set League Two alight after a frustrating stint with the Chairboys.

He made his Wimbledon debut just 2 days after putting pen to paper at Plough Lane, coming on in the 65th minute. It would take Al-Hamadi 6 matches to finally find the back of the net, scoring in a 2-2 draw against struggling Hartlepool. What Wycombe fans had hoped would happen with Ali, following his goal against Bristol City would actually happen at Wimbledon. The young striker found confidence and scored 4 goals in his next 3 games, with eyebrows starting to be raised at his excellent performances.

Although Wimbledon only won twice after he’d signed and slumped to a lowly 21st in the table, Al-Hamadi’s confidence was clear to see and he went on to finish the season with 10 goals in 19 appearances for the Dons. Quick strikers who can find the net consistently are few and far between, so plenty of clubs higher up the pyramid are happy to pay the big bucks for someone who fits that bill. Al-Hamadi had done everything right to catch the eye of potential suitors, he had already been linked with a big money move to Premier League new-boys Burnley in the summer. Nothing would materialize though and Al-Hamadi would kick on at Wimbledon for the time being.

Ali started the season slowly, failing to score in his opening 9 games, which included a narrow EFL Cup defeat away to Chelsea. James Tilley was taking all the plaudits and beginning to establish himself as the star player for the Dons, with some fans questioning whether Al-Hamadi’s excellent form he ended the season with was just a fluke.

However, as was the case the year prior, once Ali hit the net for the first time he couldn’t be stopped. His first goal for the season came against Walsall on matchday 9, that saw the floodgates once again open. A hattrick against Tranmere in the following game signaled that the attacker’s confidence had been boosted once again, seemingly unstoppable in front of goal when he got going. He wouldn’t score again for 5 games after this but would return to form with a goal against League 1 Cheltenham Town and another 2 goals against Doncaster Rovers.

He would also score for Iraq, coming on off the bench in a 5-1 thrashing of Indonesia, netting the fifth and final goal of the fixture with 2 minutes left on the clock. Ali then hit form in the league, scoring 6 times in his next 4 games after returning from international duty, with January fast approaching he was catching eyes at the right time if he wanted to find a move in the transfer window.

Ali finished 2023 with 16 goals to his name across all competitions, an excellent return for the young forward as clubs were queuing up for his signature. He played his final game for AFC Wimbledon on New Years Day in a disappointing away draw to bottom side, Forest Green Rovers.

During a stint on international duty at the end of the month and with interest evident, Dons manager Johnnie Jackson intended to keep Ali at the club until the summer to aid with his side’s play-off bid. Just 2 days before the window shut, Championship high flyers Ipswich Town tabled a bid which matched what Wimbledon were looking for. With Premier League football potentially on the cards for Ipswich, the Dons decided to grant Al-Hamadi his wish and accepted the transfer offer from the Tractor Boys.

A significant fee was paid by Ipswich for the Iraqi striker, which with further future incentives can rise to the highest ever paid for a player at League 2 level. Wycombe were also due a percentage of the fee Wimbledon received, thanks to the Chairboys holding an invested interest, however it is unknown what that percentage was or what the exact fee paid for Ali was. He was announced as an Ipswich Town player on January 29th 2024, whilst still out in Iraq with his national side.

Al-Hamadi made his Ipswich Town debut less than a week later, coming off the bench in a defeat to Preston with 10 minutes remaining. He wouldn’t start a single game for until the middle of April, but from substitute appearances he managed to tally up 4 goals in 14 Championship appearances including a brace in 10 minutes in a 6-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday. His first start which came against Middlesbrough would be his final appearance of the season, being subbed off after 58 minutes.

Despite this, Ali’s Premier League dream would come true as Ipswich sealed a return to the Premiership for the first time since 2002 with back-to-back promotions. This means that next season, if Al-Hamadi plays a single minute in the league for Ipswich, he will become the first ever Iraqi to play in the English top flight.

The Future:

Following the conclusion of the season, Al-Hamadi underwent surgery on an adductor injury that had been plaguing him in the latter stage of the season. The Iraqi international confirmed on his X account that surgery was successful, hopefully giving him time to fully recover before the start of the new season.

Its currently unknown what Kieran McKenna will have instore for the attacker next season, whether the 22-year-old will remain in and around the first team at Ipswich in their Premier League return, or a potential loan spell to the Championship or League 1 will be on the cards to get Ali the game time to develop.

McKenna was clear when he signed Al-Hamadi that he was there for the long-haul and has hopes to develop him into a Premiership caliber striker in the future. However, with regular game time being relatively scarce in his first half-season with the Tractor Boys, a loan deal could benefit Al-Hamadi as he would get regular game time rather than sitting on the bench at Portman Road.

Share this article

20 year old Devon based Wycombe Wanderers Supporter, also a writer for TheRealEFL.