Coventry must battle Ipswich to sign the £30m star

Coventry City and Ipswich Town will both be linked with plenty of similar players throughout the summer transfer window, as it is easy to bring them together.

Both have earned automatic promotion to the Championship and agents could pick them both up as easy name-pulls to garner interest from their clients, as both sides will be in the market for more additions to their squads.

For example, Ipswich and Coventry are both reportedly interested in Arsenal midfielder Ethan Nwaneri, Brighton & Hove Albion winger Solly March, and Burnley striker Zian Flemming.

It makes sense that they will be in the market for similar players as they are likely to have the same budget after promotion and will be looking for star players who are willing to sign for the newly promoted Premier League club.

They have to strengthen the entire midfield, to ensure that they are ready to play high-quality football, and they may both be looking at a new number nine.

Why Coventry and Ipswich should both sign a centre-forward

Coventry and Ipswich do not have strikers who have proven themselves in any of the major European leagues, let alone the Premier League, which is why Frank Lampard and Kieran McKenna have to look for new players.

George Hirst has the most goals in the top flight among McKenna’s nine options, while the Scot has scored just three Premier League goals in his career.

Haji Wright scored an eye-catching 17 Championship goals to lead Coventry to the league title this season, but has only scored one goal in Europe’s top five leagues, coming against Schalke in the Bundesliga in the 2018/19 campaign.

The Sky Blues and Tractor Boys, of course, will need goals from all over the pitch to fight for Premier League survival next season, and going with their current options would be a huge risk.

That is why Coventry must look to tackle Ipswich in the signing of a top-class striker when the summer transfer window opens later this month.

Coventry must battle Ipswich to sign the £30m Premier League striker

The Bulls have already been linked with a move to bring Liam Delap back to Portman Road, 12 months after selling him to Chelsea for £30m after they were relegated from the Premier League for the 2024/25 campaign.

He has struggled at Stamford Bridge, scoring just two goals this season, but that should be seen as an opportunity for Coventry and Ipswich to come in and make smart signings.

His form for the Tractor Boys on loan in the 2024/25 campaign, despite their relegation, suggests he has the quality to be an impact player in the top flight in the right place.

The 23-year-old scored a staggering 12 Premier League goals in that season, earning him £30m from Chelsea, while Hirst has not even managed that many goals in the Championship this season, scoring 11.

He will undoubtedly be the better of Hirst for McKenna because the Scottish striker scored just three goals in the top flight last season, as a result of Delap, and scored just 11 times for the side fighting for promotion to the second tier.

The £30m striker would also be a better option than Coventry’s Wright as he has proven he can score goals in the Premier League and has shown he can handle a body of that level.

Delap, who was described as “a monster” by former team-mate Alex Palmer, is a versatile and versatile striker who can be a problem for opposition defenders.

He ranks in the top 7% of strikers in the 2024/25 Premier League season for duels won (157), top 20% for aerial duels won (58), and top 8% for successful dribbling (40).

These statistics indicate that he is the perfect striker for a team struggling to drop because he is able to compete with defenders to win contests and hold balls up, and he has the ability to run and shuffle to get the team up under pressure.

Therefore, Coventry must compete with Ipswich for the signing of Delap because he can play an important role in helping any club survive in the top flight next season, with both his technical and physical attributes, as an improvement on Hirst or Wright.