Their new Chaplin: Ipswich looking to sign “ruthless” striker on a free with one game to go this season
Only one game now remains of Ipswich Town’s fleeting Premier League campaign.
At points, the Tractor Boys have shown glimpses of their quality with Liam Delap thumping in the goals, but ultimately, the Tractor Boys have lost a worrying 23 clashes from 37 overall games with relegation now confirmed.
This immediate slip back down to the Championship will result in Delap leaving Portman Road after just one season lining up for Kieran McKenna’s men.
The Suffolk side now have the back-breaking ordeal ahead of them in attempting to replace the 12-goal star with a few names already being linked to fill the ex-Manchester City man’s expected void.
Ipswich’s potential Delap replacements
Of course, the Tractor Boys might not feel compelled to go all out and actually buy a new star to replace Delap. Rather, McKenna and Co could rely on George Hirst to come good again, dropping down to the EFL.
After all, despite being second in command to the breakout Ipswich ace all of this season, the Sheffield-born forward has still chipped in with five goals of his own. Last time out in the Championship, too, Hirst would also tally up seven goals and six assists as automatic promotion was achieved.
Moving away from what McKenna already has at his disposal, however, Ipswich are being linked with a move for Swiss Super League menace Willem Geubbels.
Leeds United are also sniffing around for the St. Gallen striker’s services according to reports, and for good reason, considering Geubbels has fired home 17 goals for his current employers across 2024/25 to date.
Amazingly, however, there’s one name that hasn’t even been mentioned yet who could go on to be as potent as Conor Chaplin has proven in the past for Ipswich in the Championship.
Ipswich could now sign Chaplin 2.0
Ipswich’s rapid rise up from League One to the Premier League saw various different stars come into their own jumping up the divisions.
The aforementioned Chaplin is definitely one of those who has never looked back whilst McKenna’s men soared up to the top-flight, with the former EFL journeyman scoring a hefty 13 league strikes across the memorable 2023/24 season to help clinch promotion.
Lawrence Shankland has been through a similar upward journey plying his trade in Scotland, with a new report from EFL Analysis suggesting that the Tractor Boys are ‘looking closely’ at the striker in a bid to soften the blow of Delap’s impending exit.
It would surely be a no-brainer decision on the end of Ipswich to move for Shankland, with the report further clarifying that the recently relegated team could land the “ruthless” Hearts marksman – as he was once lauded by Chris Sutton – on a free transfer off the back of many a goal-laden season up and down the Scottish leagues.
After all, Chaplin once had to cut his own teeth too in the lower reaches of English football, with a respectable 17 strikes coming his way in League Two before he exploded into life the more he ventured up the pyramid.
Shankland is very similar in this regard when looking at the table above, considering the Glasgow-born ace is now up to a bumper 64 goals in the Scottish Premiership after once experiencing such humble beginnings on the books of Queen’s Park.
There will be a lingering worry that Shankland has never proven himself in the English game, but McKenna might well work his magic again on getting even more out of an exciting striker.
As Chaplin was last season, perhaps Shankland can be the man to deliver the goals in the Championship. Time will tell.
