Delap’s dream transfer: Ipswich could sign “explosive” £11m EFL star

Ipswich Town have been one of the Premier League’s surprise packages this season.

There was an expectation before a ball was kicked this year that Kieran McKenna’s side would struggle and that perhaps their rapid ascent up the English football pyramid would catch up with them.

However, we’re now 11 games into the campaign, and the Tractor Boys have picked up eight points courtesy of five hard-fought draws and an imposing win away to Tottenham Hotspur just before the international break.

One of the goalscorers that day was summer signing Liam Delap, who has been simply sensational for the club so far, and should the board want to get even more out of him, they should look to sign another up-and-coming talent they were linked to in the summer.

Delap’s incredible form

Ipswich decided to splash around £20m on Delap back in July.

While fans were aware of his ability in the Championship thanks to his loan move to Hull City last season, signing him was risky as he’d had minimal experience of top-flight football at City.

Those concerns even remained a few games into the season for some, as the Winchester-born poacher had only scored one goal in his first five games for the club, but then, against Aston Villa in gameweek six, he announced himself.

In his 90 minutes of football that day, the 21-year-old phenom put the ball in the back of the net twice to earn his team an unlikely point, and since then, he’s scored another three goals and provided an assist for good measure.

That means the former City gem now has seven goal involvements in just 11 league appearances for the Tractor Boys this season, equating to a sensational average of one every 1.57 games.

It’s hard to overstate just how much of a success Delap has been at Portman Road this season, but the board could make him even better if they make an effort to sign another 21-year-old talent who’s been quite the creative spark in the Championship this year.

The Championship gem Ipswich should sign

So, the player in question is West Bromwich Albion star Tom Fellows.

Interestingly, there seems to be some confusion about whether Ipswich were interested in him over the summer, as Football Insider claimed that they began talks over a potential £11m move, while other reports claim that there was no interest at all.

Whatever the truth is, the Tractor Boys should be in for the talented 21-year-old regardless, as he was impressive last season and has looked even more so this season.

For example, in 38 appearances for the Baggies last year, the “explosive” wideman, as football talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, scored five goals and provided four assists, equating to a goal involvement every 4.22 games.

However, this season has seen the Solihull-born gem become far more of a creator, and as things stand, he’s provided five assists in just 15 appearances, equating to one every three games.

It’s this ability to create chances from the right-hand side that would make him an ideal teammate for Delap, as so far, Leif Davies has the most assists in the Ipswich squad with just two to his name, while the most productive right-sided player is Omari Hutchinson with just one.

Ultimately, it might prove a challenging transfer to get over the line, but given his creativity talents and what that could mean for Delap, they should be doing all they can to bring Fellows to Portman Road in 2025.

 

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