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Blackburn Rovers should ask for Ipswich Town player if £6m deal is agreed: View.
Blackburn Rovers’ forward Sammie Szmodics is attracting Premier League interest this summer after winning the Golden Boot in the Championship last season.
Newly promoted Premier League side Ipswich Town are interested in a move for Szmodics, according to TWTD, and are in talks with Blackburn regarding a deal.
The 28-year-old scored 27 goals in the Championship last season, including a brace in a 2-0 away victory against champions Leicester City on the final day to ensure that Rovers would not be relegated to League One.
In terms of Ipswich, they have been busy in the summer transfer window so far, bringing in four new players ahead of their return to the top flight.
They have signed Omari Hutchinson from Chelsea following his impressive loan spell at Portman Road last season, Ben Johnson on a free transfer from West Ham United, Liam Delap from Manchester City and Jacob Greaves from Hull City.
The Tractor Boys were also linked with an £18m move for Hull’s Jaden Philogene, but Szmodics could be an alternative attacking option.
Sammie Szmodic’s reported Blackburn Rovers price tag has been revealed.
As per the report, Blackburn will demand a fee of just £6m (plus add-ons) for Szmodics this summer, despite the Republic of Ireland international signing a new contract until 2026 in November last year.
Personal terms are not expected to be an issue in a potential deal that would see Szmodics play Premier League football for the first time in his career.
Since the arrival of manager Kieran McKenna, Ipswich’s recruitment has been highly impressive, and a key factor in their back-to-back promotions from League One to the top flight.
The 38-year-old might have expected that Ipswich would need to pay more than £6m for a player of Szmodics’ quality, considering his age, contract status and goal-scoring record, and he will surely be delighted that the attacker is available for such a relatively low amount.
In comparison, the 2022/23 Championship top scorer, Chuba Akpom, who scored the same amount of goals as Szmodics and is a similar age, signed for Dutch giants Ajax from Middlesbrough for an initial fee of £10.5m last summer.
If Blackburn do sell Szmodics during this transfer window, they must find an adequate replacement if they are going to improve on last season’s 19th place finish in the second tier.
Blackburn Rovers should ask for Ali Al-Hamadi.
According to BolaSport, Ipswich striker Ali Al-Hamadi is not part of McKenna’s plans for the Premier League next season.
Championship new boys Oxford United are reportedly keen on a loan move for the Iraq international, who signed for Ipswich from League Two outfit AFC Wimbledon in January.
With Szmodics attracting interest from The Tractor Boys, Blackburn should explore the possibility of taking Al-Hamadi on loan in return. The 22-year-old scored four goals in 14 Championship appearances during the second half of last season as he helped Ipswich achieve promotion.
The physical forward would be a good short-term option to replace Szmodics, and with no obligation for a permanent move, it would also be relatively low-risk.
Rovers will need to find a suitable replacement if they sell Szmodics for a fee of around £6m, and signing Al-Hamadi on loan could soften the blow of losing their talisman.
Al-Hamadi would be a particularly good signing because he won’t be short of motivation to do well.
If he’s to be a valuable first-team asset with the Tractor Boys in the future, he needs to prove to McKenna why he should be.
Regular game time at Ewood Park would allow him to do that – and if given a sufficient amount of game time – he could get into a good rhythm at Blackburn.
That would help to benefit both the Lancashire side and the player.
