Even as Ipswich Town look to prepare for their next Premier League game at home to Fulham this coming weekend, there will also be obvious eyes on transfer deadline day as the Tractor Boys attempt to finish off any last-minute deals.
Kieran McKenna’s side have been very active across the summer window, snapping up 12 signings in total with Jack Clarke and Chiedozie Ogbene the most recent additions.
This number could well grow to a hefty 14 before the window slams shut, with Lyle Foster one new name on the Ipswich agenda as a striker target, alongside this exciting winger being linked.
Ipswich join bidding war for EFL star
According to The Sun’s live transfer blog, as has been relayed by Football League World, Ipswich have joined the ongoing bidding war for Tom Fellows, with an £11m bid lodged by the newly promoted side for the Baggies attacker.
Southampton are also noted as being an interested party who could make their own bid soon, alongside both Leicester City and Everton reportedly sniffing around for the breakout 21-year-old, who only ever really got his first chance in the West Brom first-team last season under Carlos Corberan.
This might well be a transfer saga that goes the distance, as the clock nervously ticks away on deadline day, with TEAMTalk speculating that a bid in and around the £15m mark could be enough for West Brom to be tempted into offloading their homegrown gem last minute.
What Fellows can offer Ipswich
Both Fellows and Foster could strike up a fantastic duo at Portman Road, if both last-ditch deals are finalised in time, as Ipswich continue to raid the Championship of their top assets.
That determination and finish from Tom Fellows 🔥💪 pic.twitter.com/UkabHdOyKL
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 10, 2024
Ipswich supporters will already be familiar with Fellows’ full-throttle game patrolling down the right flank, as the energetic West Brom number 31 scored the superb solo effort above against McKenna’s men last season, with that tenacity still present early into the brand new second-tier campaign.
Fellows has picked up three assists from three games so far, as Josh Maja rekindles his goalscoring best next to the in-demand 21-year-old, with Foster licking his lips at the potential prospect of linking up with the assist king at Portman Road too, as the South African forward goes about finding his shooting boots once more.
| Foster vs Fellows (23/24) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stat | Foster | Fellows |
| Games played | 24 | 33 |
| Goals scored | 5 | 4 |
| Assists | 3 | 3 |
| Shots per game | 1.4 | 0.5 |
| Big chances missed | 6 | 0 |
| Big chances created | 1 | 8 |
| Stats by Sofascore | ||
Foster’s numbers for the eventually relegated Clarets were promising last campaign, however, as the 23-year-old managed to pick up eight goal contributions from 24 Premier League contests, with six big chances also missed, which could have bumped up his output even more.
Next to Fellows, who has been the creative spark Maja has needed to net four goals from three Championship games in the infancy of this campaign, after only scoring once last season, the South African attacker could become a reliable option for McKenna to throw into games up top if the West Brom man takes to the top-flight swimmingly.
Described as being an “unbelievable” talent when first making a name for himself out on loan at Crawley Town by then Crawley coach Darren Byfield, a move up to the Premier League would continue the homegrown West Brom product’s sudden rise, with the Tractor Boys in need of more options in the right-wing spot owing to Wes Burns recently injuring himself.
Fellows would be able to provide depth here, alongside Omari Hutchinson and Ogbene, and could push for a position in the first-team in no time, as Ipswich continue to hunt down gems from the EFL right up until the very end of the window.
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