Ipswich Town fans would have filtered out of Portman Road extremely proud of their side’s efforts against Liverpool, battling away valiantly with Arne Slot’s Reds for the most part, before the away team’s eventual class shone through.
A killer pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold deep into the second 45 minutes would allow Mohamed Salah the freedom to pick out Diogo Jota for the opening strike before the Egyptian star took over proceedings himself and sealed the three points by cooly slotting home for 2-0.
Still, there will be plenty of positive takeaways for Kieran McKenna‘s men to latch onto, even if their display going forward lacked bite, with a paltry two shots on target managed.
Therefore, even more firepower could soon enter through the door at Portman Road, to complement the likes of Sammie Szmodics.
Ipswich targeting swoop for Premier League attacker
Reports emerged from journalist Stuart Watson last week that Ipswich are keen on adding Armando Broja to their Premier League attacking arsenal this transfer window after barely threatening Allisson’s goal in the 2-0 defeat.
Linked with various different clubs this summer, including the likes of Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ipswich will hope they can race to the front of the queue to pick up the Albania international, especially when you cast an eye over Liam Delap’s forgettable debut up top.
What Broja can offer Ipswich
Only managing to register 21 touches of the ball against the Reds, Delap’s place could be threatened by the arrival of the 6 foot 3 attacker, who was even out with his underdog nation at the Euros recently.
Valued at £30m, this would likely be a loan switch initially – according to Watson – with money already lavishly spent at Portman Road this window, in the form of Sammie Szmodics and other major new recruits.
If Szmodics can worm his way into McKenna’s main XI, in front of first-team stalwart Conor Chaplin, he could well strike up a terrifying attacking duo with Broja, who will want to get back to his best in Suffolk.
Ipswich won’t want to take too much notice of Broja’s last loan spell in the top division, with the towering 22-year-old routinely firing blanks for Fulham last campaign, managing zero goals from just eight games at Craven Cottage.
Instead, McKenna and Co will hope he can get back to firing on all cylinders like he has managed in the past for Southampton and Vitesse away from Stamford Bridge, with nine strikes registered from 38 clashes in all competitions for the Saints, when they were in the top-flight during the 2021/22 season.
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Broja (21/22) vs Szmodics (23/24) |
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|---|---|---|
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Stats |
|
|
|
Games played |
32 |
44 |
|
Goals scored |
6 |
27 |
|
Assists |
0 |
4 |
|
Shots per game |
1.4 |
3.3 |
|
Big chances missed |
5 |
17 |
|
Big chances created |
2 |
7 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
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Away from obviously offering Ipswich more of a goal threat in the top league, with a golden boot next to his name in the Championship off his exploits last season, Szmodics could also turn Broja into more of a clinical finisher in the process.
With seven big chances and four assists created last campaign, the Republic of Ireland international might well take a back-seat in the Premier League as the main source of goals (he scored 27 last season) for the Tractor Boys and become a bigger creative spark.
He’ll know he doesn’t have to step up and be the sole hero anymore, away from an environment where Blackburn Rovers were going through desperate times.
The likes of George Hirst, who only bagged seven strikes last campaign amidst an injury-ravaged time in the 25-year-old’s career, shone without ever being that deadly centre-forward, which could see Broja equally come into his own as a result, linking up with faces such as ex-Chelsea teammate Omari Hutchinson.
Labelled as “unique” in the past by football scout Antonio Mango, it’s make-or-break time for the Albanian in terms of his stuttering career, with McKenna potentially the perfect manager to raise his confidence again.
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