BREAKING NEWS: Ipswich loan star has seen his valuation skyrocket 1201% since leaving

For example, Kieran McKenna’s side have had a horrible run of fixtures so far, but have managed to pick up four points anyway.

Moreover, the Suffolk side have played some brilliant attacking football here and there, but have been let down by some suspect form their defence.

It’s still far too early to say with any certainty if the newly promoted side will stay up this year or not, but one thing is certain, securing the services of a former loanee, who has seen his valuation explode since leaving Portman Road, would have seriously helped.

Ipswich’s defensive form this season

So, before we get to the defender in question, let’s look at Ipswich’s defensive statistics so far this season, as they don’t make for pretty reading.

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.

For example, according to Understat, the Tractor Boys are actually the worst team in the league for expected goals against at the moment, as their data suggests the club should have conceded 24.09 goals so far, while the Old Gold should have only let in 18.06.

This concerning metric is one that the manager cannot afford to ignore as it ultimately suggests that the team’s current defensive form is unsustainable and could cost them come May.

However, it could also be argued that Ipswich’s xGa figure is so bad because they have already played some of their toughest fixtures of the campaign, so there is a chance that come the end of the season, it could look better than their rivals who are yet to play City away or Liverpool at home.

That said, fans would probably have felt more confident with a former loanee whose valuation has ballooned since leaving the club in defence.

Trevoh Chalobah’s valuation in 2024

Yes, the defender in question is Chelsea centre-back Trevoh Chalobah, who joined Ipswich on a season-long loan in June 2018.

The then 18-year-old went on to make his professional debut for the club at the start of that season, in a Championship draw against Blackburn Rovers on August 4th and went on to make 44 appearances for the Blues and finished third in the fans’ Player of the Year vote in April.

The promising youngster, whom Paul Hurst described as “hungry to succeed” when he joined the club, then went on to spend 19/20 on loan with Huddersfield Town and the following campaign on loan with Ligue 1 side FC Lorient before getting his chance to impress at Stamford Bridge under Frank Lampard.

In all, the 25-year-old has made 80 appearances for the West Londoners and hasn’t looked out of place in their side, but following the arrival of Enzo Maresca in the summer, the Englishman was sent out on yet another loan, this time to Crystal Palace, where following his recovery from a muscle strain, he’s made three appearances.

Unsurprisingly, the Freetown-born defender’s valuation has grown dramatically over the years, with Transfermarkt pricing him at just €1m, or £830k when he joined the Tractor Boys and €13m today, which is about £10.8m, or a staggering 1201% increase.

Ultimately, Ipswich have taken plenty of talented youngsters on loan over the years, but given their current defensive woes, McKenna would have loved the club to bring Chalobah back for another year in the summer.