For Ipswich Town to make their unexpected promotion to the Premier League stick, they will need to do a lot of smart transfer business over the coming weeks and will have to do it with one of the tightest budgets in the top flight. Fortunately, they may have found an extremely interesting signing to help improve their midfield – and he wouldn’t cost a penny.
Renato Tapia is a free agent after his contract at Celta Vigo ran down, and according to Sport Witness (who picked up on reports from Tapia’s homeland of Peru) the Tractor Boys are one of the teams interested in signing him for no more than a signing-on fee this summer. With 84 caps for his country and nearly 300 appearances for clubs in the Netherlands and Spain to his name, the 28-year-old would bring plenty of experience to Portman Road, and probably a fair amount of quality too.
A defensive midfielder by trade, Tapia isn’t an attacking threat or a major creative force – he is an aggressive passer who looks for a high percentage of direct forward passes, but lacks the accuracy and finesses to generate huge numbers of chances and hasn’t registered a goal or assist in the last three seasons.
What he does do very well is break up opposing play, and he’s proven to be a very effective shield for the Celta defence over the last four seasons since signing from Feyenoord on another free transfer. An exceptional tackler and a powerful physical presence, Tapia is a very difficult man to get past.
His average of 2.76 tackles per game over the last year is comparable to the current Ipswich captain, 32-year-old Sam Morsy, but he is of course playing at a higher level – and he generates far more turnovers than the Egyptian midfielder does, registering nearly twice as many interceptions per game.
He’s also an excellent emergency defender, and knows when to drop deep into the back line to make blocks and clearances – and when he’s further upfield, he’s more than happy to get all around the pitch looking for tackles and putting out fires. He rarely ventures into the final third, but otherwise covers every other blade of grass.
All of these are attributes that may well give Kieran McKenna’s side an edge, especially with the veteran Morsy getting a little longer in the tooth and last season’s loan signing Lewis Travis returning to parent club Blackburn Rovers. Tapia would fill a hole, is a proven performer at the top level, and wouldn’t cost anything.
Hs release from Celta does reflect a difficult 2022/23 season, which saw him go from being a nailed-on starter and one of the Galician club’s best players to a rotational piece who started 15 games, but he was consistent and solid through last season and while he was left out of Peru’s squad for the Copa América that was blamed, bizarrely, on an administrative error.
Tapia isn’t the kind of player that would transform Ipswich entirely, but he would offer experience, quality and a fierce, competitive spirit – so it’s no surprise that they have competition for his signing. Apparently Emirati side Al-Wasl have already made an offer (which was rejected) and Porto are also reported to be interested, which in its own right represents a pretty strong character reference.
Sport Witness’ report does add that he would prefer to remain in Spain, which could make life difficult for McKenna and his transfer team, but the lure of the Premier League could give them a chance – and given that he’s available on a free, it would be a chance they would be well-advised to take.
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