Sky Sports News. Ipswich loan star has seen his valuation skyrocket 1201% since leaving.

Ipswich Town have had a mixed start in the Premier League this season.

Despite a poor start to the season, Kieran McKenna’s team managed to secure four points.

Furthermore, the Suffolk side has played some wonderful offensive football here and there, but has been let down by some questionable defensive play.

It’s far too early to say whether the newly promoted side will stay up this year, but one thing is certain: signing a former loanee whose value has skyrocketed since leaving Portman Road would have been extremely beneficial.

Ipswich’s defensive performance this season

So, before we get to the defender in question, let’s take a look at Ipswich’s defensive statistics this season, which aren’t particularly appealing.

As things stand, McKenna’s side have conceded the second-highest number of goals in the league at 20, with Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers somehow doing even worse in this department and conceding a staggering 25.

However, things get even worse when we examine the underlying statistics from the campaign so far.

Understat data indicates that the Tractor Boys are now the poorest side in the league for anticipated goals against, with a total of 24.09 goals surrendered compared to the Old Gold’s 18.06.

predicted goals against (xGA) is the amount of goals a team is predicted to surrender given the quality and quantity of shots they face.

This alarming measure is one that the manager cannot afford to ignore since it shows that the team’s present defensive form is unsustainable and may cost them in May.

The 18-year-old made his professional debut for the club on August 4th in a Championship draw against Blackburn Rovers. He went on to make 44 appearances for the Blues and placed third in the fans’ poll for Player of the Year in April.

Paul Hurst characterized the bright teenager as “hungry to succeed” when he joined the club. He spent 19/20 on loan with Huddersfield Town and the next season on loan with Ligue 1 side FC Lorient before impressing at Stamford Bridge under Frank Lampard.

In total, the 25-year-old has made 80 appearances for the West Londoners and has not looked out of place in their side. However, following the arrival of Enzo Maresca in the summer, the Englishman was sent out on loan, this time to Crystal Palace, where he has made three appearances after recovering from a muscle strain.

The Freetown-born defender’s value has skyrocketed from €1 million (£830,000) when he joined the Tractor Boys to €13 million (£10.8 million) today, an astounding 1201% rise.

Finally, Ipswich have loaned out a number of outstanding young players over the years, but given the club’s present defensive issues, McKenna would have rather that Chalobah return for another year in the summer.