Even though it was Ipswich Town’s 22nd game of the season, they enjoyed a true welcome to the Premier League moment when they welcomed champions Manchester City at Portman Road.
In Suffolk, Pep Guardiola’s team dominated and defeated Kieran McKenna’s team 6-0; they even substituted Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, and Kevin de Bruyne for the last half hour or so.
Ipswich had not given up five goals or more in a league match at Portman Road since 2021 against Bolton, and it was the first time they had given up six goals at home since a 2011 loss to Leicester.
Despite being on goal differential below Wolverhampton Wanderers and remaining in the Premier League’s bottom three, the Tractor Boys have a chance to escape relegation.
They may have a better chance of surpassing Wolves and avoiding a direct return to the Championship if they add additional quality to the team. The first two additions of the January transfer window are Ben Godfrey and Jaden Philogene.
The squad needs to do more to generate opportunities for Liam Delap at the top end of the field, therefore McKenna should be looking to expand his offensive options.
Liam Delap’s form this season
The England U21 international was brought in from Manchester City in the summer and has been the go-to man for goals for Ipswich in the Premier League so far this season.
With eight of the team’s 20 goals, he has scored an incredible 40% of the team’s goals in the division, demonstrating how crucial the forward has been to their attempts to move out of the bottom three.
Without his ability in the final third, Ipswich might have fallen farther behind Wolves and the other league teams, and they need to figure out how to get involved in games in the second half of the season.
Delap has been extremely clinical in front of goal, outperforming his xG by 1.64, as shown in the above table. However, his colleagues have not given him many opportunities, as evidenced by their 6.36 xG in 21 games.
The 21-year-old marksman has often had to fashion opportunities for himself with his powerful running and impressive dribbling, as you can see in the clip below.
Ipswich need to create more as a team to ensure that they are providing the forward with the ammunition he needs to be able to win games for the Tractor Boys to push them out of the bottom three in the weeks to come.
The January transfer window is still open for business and McKenna could make a dream signing for Delap by swooping for one of the club’s reported transfer targets, Julio Enciso.
Ipswich’s interest in Julio Enciso
As the board attempts to bolster the squad before the end of the window, TWTD revealed earlier this month that Ipswich is interested in the Brighton & Hove Albion winger.
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They stated that the forward is a player of interest to the Suffolk-based team and reported on a rumor from Nacion Media that the Tractor Boys and Leicester City are both considering a loan deal for him.
However, because Premier League regulations prohibit a club from having two players on loan from the same top-tier team, the Foxes would have to either terminate Facundo Buonanotte’s loan or sign the attacker permanently.
The Tractor Boys have had their eye on the Paraguay international for many transfer windows, according to TWTD, and Enciso is a player they have been following for a while.
But according to the article, Ipswich has not yet formally inquired about a deal to acquire his services, which does not imply that a transfer is imminent at this time.
The dynamic attacker may be a fantastic addition for Delap in the second part of the 2024–2025 season, therefore McKenna should press for the team to finalize a contract for him.
Why Julio Enciso could be a dream for Liam Delap
Ipswich must take chances like Philogene and Godfrey because they will not be able to recruit experienced, in-form, Premier League players while they are battling relegation this season.
Given his paucity of playing time at Brighton, Enciso would undoubtedly be a risk, but his performance in the few minutes he has played for the Seagulls over the years indicates that he has the ability to be a creative force for the Tractor Boys.
The £19 million star has only started 14 Premier League games since the 2022–2023 season began, and has appeared as a substitute in another 30 games.
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