Ipswich Town‘s Marcelino Núñez is paying for his behaviour with Chile during the last international break and this is impacting his situation at the Premier League side.
The attacking midfielder joined Ipswich Town in August 2025, after spending three years at Norwich City.
He was a regular in his debut season at Portman Road, when the Tractor Boys were in the Championship.
Núñez managed three goals and nine assists in 36 matches as Ipswich Town secured a direct promotion to the Premier League.
Difficult period at Ipswich Town
The Chile international played the full 90 minutes in the league win over Sunderland in August. Later that month, he started against Manchester United, and Gary O’Neil replaced him after 45 minutes.
These are his only two Premier League appearances so far. Besides those, the 26-year-old has two appearances in the EFL Cup this season.
On September 15th, Marcelino Núñez started in Ipswich Town’s EFL Cup defeat to Arsenal, and that was his last appearance for the club. He played one more match for the national team later that month.
Last month, the Ipswich Town man left the national team camp before the end of the international break. Chile manager Nicolás Córdova has left him out of the squad for the upcoming fixtures in November.
Ipswich Town player paying the price
Former Chile international Jorge Contreras has been analysing Marcelino Núñez’s situation with both club and country for Red Gol. He is honest in admitting that his compatriot has to take the blame for his own behaviour.
“That’s how it is in Europe. If they found out he made a bad decision and left the national team, they had to punish him. It’s clear,” he said.
“Not having trained or prepared during the week also plays a role. But his decision to leave the national team and the tantrum he threw have a lot to do with it.”
“Over there, they teach you to be respectful in that regard. Even if the coach doesn’t play you, you can’t leave a training camp.”
It’s unclear whether Gary O’Neil will change his mind over the Chilean in the next few weeks. If it doesn’t, he could push for a January move, to end the ‘real nightmare’ with the English club.
