Ipswich Town have shown with their early transfer window business that they won’t be content with just making up the numbers in the Premier League, already breaking their transfer record to make a major statement.
Omari Hutchinson entering through the door for a bumper £22m would have rightly excited Tractor Boys supporters, whilst the more shrewd free transfer capture of Ben Johnson from West Ham United to shore up the defence in Suffolk would have been equally greeted with applause.
Kieran McKenna and Co could opt to move back to flashy purchases, as opposed to operating frugally, with this next potential addition, who could take the Premier League by storm if he joins.
Ipswich in talks with in-demand Hull City star
According to football journalist Nick Mashiter, via BBC Sport, Ipswich are edging closer to signing entertaining Hull City winger Jaden Philogene-Bidace this window, as McKenna looks to make an already entertaining attack at Portman even stronger for the challenge of the top-flight.
The report states that Ipswich and Hull are in ‘advanced talks’ over a move getting over the line, with Philogene wanting to test himself in the Premier League, despite interest coming from the likes of Barcelona from La Liga.
Even with more established Premier League outfits in the form of Everton and West Ham United also being noted as interested parties, Philogene believes Ipswich to be his best onward destination away from the MKM Stadium as per BBC Sport, with McKenna over the moon at landing another statement signing if all goes to plan.
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What Philogene can offer Ipswich
The unpredictable Hull number 23, who was previously on the books at Aston Villa before making a name for himself on Humberside, will want to take Nathan Broadhead’s concrete first-team spot off him if he does relocate to Suffolk, keeping the ex-Everton man very much on his toes.
Ipswich succeeded in the Championship in the manner they did by playing gung-ho football, which saw them net a division-best of 92 goals last season, and that approach doesn’t look like it’ll be completely abandoned even in such a daunting league.
Philogene loved an audacious strike last campaign for the Tigers, as can be seen with his outrageous solo strike against Rotherham United above, with 12 goals tallied up from 32 league games in total, on top of six assists also being registered by the stand-out 22-year-old.
Philogene vs Broadhead
Stat (* = per 90 mins)
Philogene
Broadhead
Games played
32
38
Goals scored
12
13
Assists
6
3
Shots*
3.6
2.0
Touches*
56.6
29.5
Big chances missed
6
9
Big chances created
7
9
Stats by Sofascore
Comparing both Philogene and Broadhead side-by-side, when looking at their comparative Championship numbers, this could be a real closely fought battle for that starting left wing spot.
This will be a healthy conundrum for McKenna to have on his plate, having so much quality at his disposal making the step-up, to try and make survival happen.
Philogene’s daring nature when striding forward, seen in his 3.6 shots per game bettering Broadhead’s 2.0 last campaign, even saw former Hull manager Liam Rosenior describe the slick 5 foot 11 attacker as “ridiculous”, with his trademark mazey runs bamboozling many a second-tier defender.
The in-demand forward would fit in well at Portman Road, therefore, with the likes of Conor Chaplin and George Hirst no doubt excited about the prospect of linking up with such an enigmatic attacker, as Ipswich look to be a feared attacking team even in the Premier League.
He more than deserves a crack at the top flight now, having been discarded by Villa without ever being given a fair shot in the West Midlands in the top league, with Ipswich looking likely to be the club to give him the platform to do so.
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