Ipswich Town had a real welcome to the Premier League moment, despite it being their 22nd match of the season, when they hosted the champions Manchester City at Portman Road.
Pep Guardiola’s side ran riot in Suffolk and crushed Kieran McKenna‘s men with a 6-0 victory, even taking off Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland, and Phil Foden for the final 30 minutes or so.
It was the first time Ipswich have conceded five or more goals in a league game at Portman Road since 2021 against Bolton and the first time they have conceded six at home since a defeat to Leicester in 2011.
The Tractor Boys remain in the bottom three in the Premier League, on goal difference behind Wolverhampton Wanderers, but still have a realistic chance of avoiding the drop.
Bringing in more quality to bolster the squad could give them a better chance of climbing above Wolves to avoid going straight back down to the Championship. Jaden Philogene and Ben Godfrey have arrived as the first two additions of the January transfer window.
McKenna should be in the market to add more options to his attacking arsenal because the team needs to do more to create chances for Liam Delap at the top end of the pitch.
Liam Delap’s form this season
The England U21 international was brought in from Manchester City in the summer and has been the go-to man for goals for Ipswich in the Premier League so far this season.
He has scored a staggering 40% of the club’s goals in the division with eight of the 20 goals scored by the team, which speaks to how important the forward has been to their efforts to climb out of the bottom three.
Ipswich may have been further adrift of Wolves and the rest of the teams in the league without his quality in the final third, and they must find a way to get him even more involved in matches in the second half of the season.
As you can see in the table above, Delap has been incredibly clinical in front of goal, overperforming his xG by 1.64, but his teammates have not created a huge number of chances for him, with just 6.36 xG in 21 games.
The 21-year-old marksman has often had to fashion opportunities for himself with his powerful running and impressive dribbling, as you can see in the clip below.
Ipswich need to create more as a team to ensure that they are providing the forward with the ammunition he needs to be able to win games for the Tractor Boys to push them out of the bottom three in the weeks to come.
The January transfer window is still open for business and McKenna could make a dream signing for Delap by swooping for one of the club’s reported transfer targets, Julio Enciso.
Ipswich’s interest in Julio Enciso
Earlier this month, TWTD reported that Ipswich hold an interest in the Brighton & Hove Albion winger, as the board looks to bolster the squad before the end of the window.
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They reported on a claim from Nacion Media that the Tractor Boys and Leicester City are both eyeing up the forward for a loan move, and confirmed that he is a player of interest to the Suffolk-based side.
The Foxes, however, would need to cancel Facundo Buonanotte’s loan or sign the attacker on a permanent deal, as the Premier League rules do not allow a club to have two players on loan from the same top-flight team.
TWTD added that Enciso is a player the Tractor Boys have been tracking for some time and that they have had their eye on the Paraguay international for several transfer windows.
However, the report revealed that Ipswich are yet to make a formal enquiry over a deal to secure his services, which does not suggest that a transfer is close at this moment in time.
McKenna, however, should push for the club to get a deal over the line for the versatile attacker because he could come in as a dream signing for Delap in the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.
Why Julio Enciso could be a dream for Liam Delap
Ipswich are not going to be able to sign proven, in-form, Premier League quality players whilst fighting relegation this season, which means that they have to take gambles – like Philogene and Godfrey.
Enciso would certainly be a gamble, given his lack of game time at Brighton, but his form, in limited minutes, for the Seagulls over the years suggests that the potential is there for him to be a creative force for the Tractor Boys.
Since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, the £19m-rated star has only started 14 matches in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute in a further 30 games.
The 20-year-old starlet, who was described as “Ronaldo-esque” for the strike above by Jamie Redknapp, has shown potential in the Premier League, with four goals and seven ‘big chances’ created despite only starting 14 times.
‘Ronaldo-esque’ is a good way to describe his style, albeit not quality at this moment in time, as he is a dynamic, right-footed, forward who can play on the left, as an attacking midfielder, or as a centre-forward, similar to Cristiano Ronaldo in his early days at Manchester United.
His most starts in a season for Brighton came in the 2022/23 campaign, starting seven of his 20 outings in the Premier League, and he showcased his quality at the top end of the pitch.
