Life in the Premier League has been brutally tough for Ipswich Town this season.
Kieran McKenna’s side have looked impressive in plenty of games and picked up brilliant points against Manchester United, Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion, yet as things stand, they remain in the relegation zone.
However, there are reasons to be optimistic for the Tractor Boys as they picked up their second win of the campaign in a hard-fought encounter with Wolverhampton Wanderers on the weekend and still have the sensationally gifted Liam Delap in their ranks.
The 21-year-old poacher is still somewhat raw but has played a key role in several impressive results this season, so recent reports linking the club to a striker who’s currently outscoring him should excite the Portman Road faithful.
Ipswich Town transfer news
According to a recent report from Italian publication TUTTOmercatoWEB, Ipswich are one of several sides interested in Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath.
In fact, the report claims that both the Tractor Boys and fellow Premier League side West Ham United have already made contact about the player, while there is growing interest from the continent as well.
No price is mentioned in the story, but in an interview with Football League World in the summer, Boro expert Phil Spencer suggested it would take an offer of around £20m to tempt the Championship side into selling their star striker.
It could be a complicated and costly deal to get over the line, but given Lath’s sensational form, it’s worth pursuing.
Why Ipswich should sign Lath
So, in reality, there are two primary reasons Ipswich should be looking to sign Lath in January, and they are intrinsically linked.
The first reason is that McKenna needs to add more talent to his squad.
While the Northern Irishman undoubtedly has a number of incredibly gifted individuals within his team already, a large portion of the side is the same one that he had in League One, which just isn’t sustainable.
However, the club need to ensure they bring in bodies that’ll help improve the overall level of the squad, and that is where Lath and his brilliant output come in.
For example, in just 36 appearances last season, the 25-year-old poacher found the back of the net 18 times and provided one assist, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 1.89 games.
Impressively, he has maintained his strong performances this season as well.
He currently has a tally of eight goals and two assists in 22 appearances this season, equating to a goal involvement every 2.2 games.
Appearances
36
22
Goals
18
8
Assists
1
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0.52
0.45
This output also means he is outscoring Delap, who scored six goals and provided one assist in 17 games for the Tractor Boys.
Now, it’s important to clarify that we aren’t saying the “quality” forward, as dubbed by Spencer, is a better striker than the former Manchester City ace, but just that he has the raw ability to be a great forward.
Moreover, while he wouldn’t come in and displace the Winchester-born star, he’d be an excellent backup and someone who’d undoubtedly improve the overall level of McKenna’s squad and, therefore, the team’s chances of survival.
Ultimately, Lath might not be a household name, but he has shown enough in the last two years to warrant a team like Ipswich to take a chance on him.
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