It’s been a brutal start to their first Premier League campaign in over two decades, but things are starting to look up for Ipswich Town.
Kieran McKenna’s side picked up their first win of the campaign on Sunday, and with five draws already in the bag, the team sit outside the relegation zone in 17th place and on eight points.
It was a sensational win over an ultra-attacking Tottenham Hotspur side, and while there were unreal performances across the pitch, it was Liam Delap who once again grabbed the headlines.
The former Manchester City ace has been in incredible form for the Tractor Boys of late, but there is another star signed by McKenna who could be sold for even more money down the line.
Delap’s current valuation
Ipswich paid City around £20m for Delap in July of this year, and while there was undoubtedly an element of risk in spending so much on a striker with just two Premier League appearances to his name at the time, he has since proven to be a bargain.
The Winchester-born dynamo has made 12 appearances for the Tractor Boys across all competitions this season and has already racked up an undeniably impressive tally of six goals and one assist, equating to an average of a goal involvement once every 1.71 games.
Moreover, he’s not just scoring against the weaker sides or picking up consolation goals either; he’s having a massive impact on the club’s point haul, with a brace against Aston Villa, the equalising goal against Fulham, and a goal and assist against Spurs on Sunday.
Unsurprisingly, such incredible form has attracted the interest of other teams across the country, and based on a report from Caught Offside last month, the Lilywhites are one of said sides, with the report claiming that Ipswich could be willing to part ways with their star striker for just €40m, which is about £33m.
Now, while that certainly feels low, it would represent a £13m profit, and given the club’s outlay over the summer, it might not be entirely unrealistic.
| Delap’s Ipswich career | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competition | PL | LC |
| Appearances | 11 | 1 |
| Goals | 6 | 0 |
| Assists | 1 | 0 |
| Goals + Assists per Match | 0.63 | 0.00 |
| All Stats via Transfermarkt | ||
With that said, should the Tractor Boys sanction the sale of Delap for such a price – they shouldn’t, by the way – fans can rest assured that they have another up-and-coming star in the team who could make them a lot more money, at least based on the valuations of his contemporaries.
The Ipswich ace who could be sold for more than Delap
So, several promising Ipswich stars could become Premier League icons in the future, from club-record signing Omari Hutchinson to former Sunderland ace Jack Clarke, who’s yet to show his best in East Anglia.
However, the player in question is the club’s incredible left-back, Leif Davis, who joined McKenna’s revolution from Leeds United in the summer of 2022 for a fee reported to be in the region of £1m.
Since then, the Newcastle-born “animal”, as dubbed by former manager Scott Parker, has made 101 appearances for the Blues, in which he’s scored six goals and provided a massive haul of 37 assists, equating to an unbelievable average of a goal involvement every 2.34 games.
That level of return for a full-back has seen the Englishman become one of the club’s most important players, and after another barnstorming campaign last year, in which he racked up two goals and 21 assists in 44 games, he was rightfully voted the Men’s Players’ Player of the Year by his teammates.
So, with that said, why do we believe the 24-year-old star could one day net the Tractor Boys more money than the fee being banded about for Delap? Well, that’s down to the valuations of other attacking full-backs in the league.
For example, Spurs’ Pedro Porro, who has as many goal involvements as Davis this season, is currently valued at €45m by Transfermarkt, which is around £38m, and not only is he just as effective as McKenna’s talented left-back, he’s also just a year older, so why shouldn’t their valuation’s be similar?
On top of that, FBref, which compares players in similar positions in the Premier League, consider Trent Alexander-Arnold to be the seventh most similar full-back to the former Leeds ace this season, and according to Transfermarkt, he’s worth around €70m, which is about £58m.
Now, this isn’t to say that the 6 foot talent will be sold for a price quite that high.
Nevertheless, it does show that valuations for effective attacking full-backs are only growing in the modern game, and based on his performances over the last few years, Davis’ development doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon either.
Therefore, while Ipswich might make a small profit on Delap in the coming transfer windows, they could well make a monumental profit on their sensationally gifted left-back.
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