It’s been a brutally tough start to their first Premier League campaign in over two decades this season, but Ipswich Town are looking impressive.
Kieran McKenna’s side have already played Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur, but with a win over the latter, they find themselves one point away from the relegation zone.
There will undoubtedly be plenty of ups and downs as the season progresses, but as things stand, the Tractor Boys look like a serious proposition, largely thanks to their summer signings.
Former Manchester City striker Liam Delap already has six goals and an assist to his name in 11 league appearances, and in recent games, Sammie Szmodics is starting to show exactly why Ipswich signed him, although he’s currently worth considerably less than a former loanee who flopped at Portman Road a few years ago.
Last season saw Szmodics go stratospheric with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, as he racked up a frankly ridiculous haul of 33 goals and four assists in 48 appearances across all competitions.
So, there was a hope, perhaps more than an expectation, that the Irishman would be able to carry over that form to this season with Ipswich.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and instead, the 29-year-old was a little underwhelming initially, as in his first eight appearances for the side, he scored just a single goal, which came in the team’s 4-1 thrashing at the hands of the champions.
However, in recent weeks, things have changed, and in his last three appearances, the Colchester-born dynamo has found the back of the net twice, meaning that across the campaign, he’s now averaging a goal every 3.66 games, which isn’t too bad, and may well improve as the weeks pass by.
In all, while he endured a slow start to the season, it would be fair to say that Szmodics is starting to justify his price of £11m including add-ons.
However, in recent weeks, things have changed, and in his last three appearances, the Colchester-born dynamo has found the back of the net twice, meaning that across the campaign, he’s now averaging a goal every 3.66 games, which isn’t too bad, and may well improve as the weeks pass by.
In all, while he endured a slow start to the season, it would be fair to say that Szmodics is starting to justify his price of £11m including add-ons.
Ipswich have signed more than their fair share of players on loan over the years, but in August 2021, the club signed Aston Villa’s highly-rated 18-year-old, Louie Barry.
The exciting attacker had rejoined the Villans from Barcelona’s La Masia the year before for around £880k, and while he scored a spectacular goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup Third Round in January 2021, it was clear he needed to earn more first-team experience away from the top-flight.
Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out for the Sutton Coldfield-born winger at Portman Road, and following just six appearances for the Blues, in which he failed to score or assist a goal, he was recalled back to Villa Park in January 2022.
The following year saw him spend mixed loan spells with Swindon Town, MK Dons and Salford before he was sent to League Two outfit Stockport County for the 23/24 season, where he finally found his feet, scoring nine goals and providing four assists in 22 games.
Unsurprisingly, the now League One side wanted the 21-year-old to come back on loan for this season, and while there was an expectation that he’d be another useful provider of goals and assists for the team, nobody quite expected him to be as good as he has been.
For example, in just 17 appearances, the “incredible” talent, as dubbed by England international Declan Rice, has scored 12 goals and provided one assist, meaning that he is currently averaging a goal involvement every 1.3 games.
Such an incredible start to the campaign from the young gem has seen clubs in the top flight take notice.
According to reports from earlier this week, Spurs and Leicester City are particularly keen on this. However, the same reports have also revealed that Barry is now valued at around £12.5m, a big jump on the fee Villa paid for him in 2020 and more than Ipswich paid for Szmodics in the summer.
Ultimately, McKenna’s side are starting to click, and the summer signings are a big part of that, but it’s always interesting to see how those who couldn’t make it at the club are getting on now.