Ipswich Town were on the receiving end of another humbling defeat in the Premier League when travelling to Liverpool on Saturday as Arne Slot’s hosts ran out convincing 4-1 victors.

It was always going to be a tall order for the Tractor Boys to go to Anfield and topple the might of the Reds, with the Suffolk underdogs remaining in the top-flight drop-zone on goal difference off the back of another heavy loss.

With Ali Al-Hamadi now loaned out to the Championship to gift him more game-time, Kieran McKenna could now be looking at improving his numbers up top.

After all, as much as Liam Delap has shown regularly this season he can be an explosive and clinical striker, he is also prone to an off-day in front of goal.

Indeed, the former Manchester City attacker has drawn blanks across his last three Ipswich outings, with the standard of opposition arguably not helping his case.

Across the three defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion, Liverpool and Manchester City, Delap has only managed to muster up a weak combined total of 53 touches, with just three efforts registered too as the rest of his teammates also struggled to find the back of the net.

Of course, you would imagine that the 21-year-old will flicker back into life in front of goal sooner rather than later, considering he can boast eight goals from 21 Premier League games away from his current barren patch of form.

But, McKenna will know he cannot rely on just Delap to deliver the goods, and with George Hirst only managing one strike from 11 league games himself as an option in reserve, a new striker prospect could soon arrive through the door to shake up the striker positions.

Ipswich enquire about “explosive” teenager

As per a report from football journalist Graeme Bailey, interest is beginning to heat up regarding the services of Sheffield United youngster Ryan One, with Ipswich just one suitor looking at the promising Scotsman.

The Tractor Boys have allegedly made an enquiry to sign the teenager, with other notable Premier League sides looking at the exciting 18-year-old in the form of Liverpool, Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur. That said, One could well be intrigued by the potential of moving to Suffolk with more game-time perhaps on the table for him at Portman Road.

After all, the teenage hotshot has already begun to make waves at his current side Sheffield United, with this composed finish in the U21 ranks against arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday one reason why he has been bumped up to the first team ranks.

The “explosive” youngster – as he has been labelled by Scottish football X account Scotball in the past – has since scored just once in the senior fold under Chris Wilder from 13 appearances, with a hope attached here that Ipswich can strike gold again by signing a raw talent that used to call South Yorkshire home like they managed with the aforementioned Hirst.

As can be seen by looking at the table above, Hirst hasn’t always been known as a goalscoring hero like he is now at Portman Road during his team’s unbelievable back-to-back promotions, as the 25-year-old visibly struggled with his confidence at various different clubs before his big Ipswich switch.

Therefore, whilst One only boasts five senior career goals playing in Scotland and in Sheffield, McKenna might well be the best possible manager to get the most of him moving forward like he managed with Hirst.

Nobody will be expecting the 18-year-old to usurp Delap in the starting XI, but One’s purchase would keep the 21-year-old on his toes and gift the Tractor Boys another youthful spark in attack.

 

The news outlet reports (26 January) that the 19-year-old has emerged as a surprise option for the Hammers.

Scouts from the Irons were in attendance to watch the defender play as Sutton beat York City in the National League on Saturday (18 January).

The East London club had a poor first half of the season under Julen Lopetegui, who failed to bring the best out of the squad at his disposal and left them lingering above the relegation zone before his sacking.

While the Hammers seemingly made several quality additions to their squad in the summer transfer window, none of the players have been able to make a mark so far at the London Stadium.

The Irons made several additions to their backline, but most of them have underwhelmed, with Jean-Clair Todibo evidently struggling to settle in the Premier League.

Graham Potter has a massive task on his hands to turn the fortunes at the East London club in the coming months, but fans should give him time to do so.

West Ham arguably need reinforcements before the 3 February deadline, although Taylor’s addition seemingly wouldn’t make much of a difference for them.

The young centre-back has made his way through Sutton’s academy and spent the start of the campaign on loan at Hampton & Richmond Borough in the sixth tier of English football before being recalled in January.

While the 19-year-old might have immense talent, a step up to the Premier League would undoubtedly be difficult for the defender in such a short span of time.

The Irons need players in the winter window who will be able to make an impact in the short term.

In other West Ham news, a breakthrough has emerged in the race for Evann Guessand.

After already welcoming Jaden Philogene and Julio Enciso this month, Ipswich Town are now reportedly leading the race to sign another attacker before the deadline for Kieran McKenna.

Ipswich transfer news

On course to suffer an instant return to the Championship, Ipswich had no choice but to turn towards the transfer market this month and welcome both Philogene and Enciso. Two impressive acquisitions, with the latter particularly standing out, McKenna will be hoping to see the duo make more of an impact than they did against Premier League leaders Liverpool in what was always going to be an uphill battle for his side.

Recent arrival Enciso will certainly be looking to make his mark in the coming weeks following a surprise loan move from Brighton & Hove Albion. He told the official Ipswich website after putting pen to paper this week: “I am so happy to be here.

“The conversations with the Manager have been good. I am very grateful to him and the Club for believing in me. I can’t wait to get going. I’m a real fighter and I will do my best in every game.”

The Brighton loanee may not be the last name through the door, however. According to Graeme Bailey for The Boot Room, Ipswich have made their first approach to sign Ryan One from Sheffield United and are now leading the race to secure the 18-year-old’s signature after previous claims suggested those at Portman Road were close to making an offer for One.

The Championship youngster is already making his mark on senior football for the Blades and is undoubtedly one to watch. With Liverpool also reportedly interested as well as Brighton and Tottenham, Ipswich may have to act quickly if they are to secure his signature before the deadline on February 3.

Ipswich have struck gold on “superb” star who is worth as much as Enciso

Whilst the young Scot is unlikely to make an immediate impact, he is certainly one for the future whether that’s at Portman Road or elsewhere.

More often than not, Ipswich are unsurprisingly relying on Liam Delap to produce a moment of magic to drag them out of the depths of potential defeat. The trouble with that is, as talented as Delap is, he cannot drag The Tractor Boys to survival single-handedly and desperately needs some added firepower alongside him, be it as soon as possible or in the coming years.

One, a rising star, may not make an immediate impact, but getting senior opportunities at the highest level could accelerate his push to realise his potential, especially under the guidance of McKenna. Described as “explosive” by Scottish football experts Scotball, the Sheffield United man remains one to watch amid such reported interest.

With just over a week remaining until the transfer window slams shut, Ipswich could yet add to the arrivals of Philogene and Enciso.

 

Jacob Greaves has revealed Ipswich Town’s plan at Anfield on Saturday was to limit Mohamed Salah’s goalscoring opportunities.

It was a strategy the Tractors Boys didn’t execute too well as Salah netted the second goal in Liverpool’s 4-1 Premier League win, while he also had two other shots during the game – although, given he has either scored or assisted in all bar one home league match this season, Ipswich might see just one goal involvement as acceptable.

It was Dominik Szoboszlai who got the ball rolling for Liverpool after 11 minutes when he netted from the edge of the box, while Cody Gakpo continued his excellent home form with a brace. The only negative for Liverpool was a late headed goal from Greaves, his first in the Premier League.

Speaking after the game, the Ipswich center-back was asked about the difficult challenge of trying to keep out the league’s most potent attacking side.

“They have got some unbelievable players. Salah has obviously been incredible, so it was about trying to limit him as much as possible. I felt like we did that,” Greaves told the East Anglian Daily Times.

“For his goal, we can defend it a little bit better. They are going to have chances, so it’s just about whether we can limit them to slender ones. Unfortunately we didn’t do that today, but I’m really proud of the group for how we stuck at it in the second half.”

Salah moved on to 23 goals in all competitions this season when he netted from an acute angle against Ipswich, but Arne Slot was also pleased with his output at the other end of the pitch.

“That stood out because it was a moment which we could all see,” the Liverpool boss responded when asked about a specific moment when Salah tracked back to tackle Jaden Philogene. “But I think if you look at almost all the times we lost the ball, I saw a reaction from many players like that.

“Playing against a team with fast wingers and a good number nine – that goes to such a low block – it is so difficult to control the counter-attack. The only way to do so is to do what Mo did in this moment and so many other players did in different moments. That’s why I was pleased with our performance.”

Saturday’s goal leaves Salah on 19 in the Premier League this season, one clear of Erling Haaland who was also on target on Saturday.