It’s been a good few weeks for Ipswich Town.
Kieran McKenna’s side picked up their first home Premier League win in over two decades when they beat Chelsea 2-1 and then claimed a point away to Fulham over the weekend, which is a fixture many teams have struggled in this season.
On top of that, the Tractor Boys also announced the signing of defender Ben Godfrey on loan until the end of the campaign, and it looks like there might be yet more business conducted over the coming weeks.
Yes, alongside defensive reinforcements, the Suffolk side have also been linked with an exciting striker who actually outperformed Liam Delap last year.
Ipswich Town transfer news
According to a recent report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Ipswich are one of several sides interested in Coventry City’s Haji Wright.
Alongside the Tractor Boys, the report has revealed that fellow relegation candidates Leicester City are also keen on the American international, who’s been in fine form this season.
The report claims that while manager Frank Lampard will likely want to keep the forward, the club may be more open to selling as they’d expect to get at least double what they paid for the player, which was £8m, meaning he could be available for around £16m.
It could be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but given Wright’s ability and the fact that Ipswich need competition for Delap, it’s one well worth pursuing.
Why Ipswich should sign Wright
So, with the capture of Godfrey, Ipswich have significantly improved the quality and depth of defensive options at McKenna’s disposal, which is just what they would be doing for his offensive options by signing Wright.
Now, there is certainly an argument to be made that, with no Premier League experience under his belt, the American forward could end up as a flop.
However, before the start of this season, the same could have been said about Delap, as his top-flight experience with City amounted to just 47 minutes.
Furthermore, the “dangerous” centre-forward, as dubbed by former Schalke sporting director Horst Heldt, actually outperformed the Englishman last season.
For example, the former City gem scored eight goals and provided two assists in 32 appearances for Hull City, meaning he maintained a reasonable average of a goal involvement every 3.2 games for the Tigers.
Appearances
50
32
Minutes
3397′
2252′
Goals
19
8
Assists
8
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0.54
0.31
Minutes per Goal Involvement
125.81′
225.2
In comparison, the Los Angeles-born marksman racked up a seriously impressive haul of 19 goals and eight assists in 50 appearances for the Sky Blues, which comes out to a brilliant average of a goal involvement every 1.85 games.
Impressively, despite spending some time out injured, the 26-year-old goalscorer has kept up his excellent form this season and currently has a haul of eight goal involvements to his name in 17 appearances, which works out to one every 2.12 games.
On top of that, the 15-capped international is more versatile than his potential new teammate and can play down the middle or out wide, giving McKenna more options in attack and increasing his chances of starting for the team.
Ultimately, while Ipswich still find themselves in the relegation zone, there are reasons to be optimistic, from recent results to the signing of Godfrey, and while it would require yet more spending, the signing of Wright would give the fans another reason to be hopeful.
Therefore, the club should do what they can to bring him to Portman Road this month, as his attacking abilities could be a deciding factor for their fate come May.
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