Not just Delap: McKenna has struck gold on £40k-p/w Ipswich star
It’s been a hectic and incredibly tough start to life in the Premier League for Ipswich Town this season, but they are handling it brilliantly so far.
Kieran McKenna’s side were given possibly the most challenging opening fixtures of anyone in the league this year. To kick things off, they played a home game against Liverpool, followed by an away trip to Manchester City, just in case the fans forgot how tough the top-flight can be.
Understandably, the Tractor Boys didn’t pick up any points from those games, but they have since picked up a point against Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion, Southampton, and most impressively, Aston Villa
In all, things are looking good for McKenna’s side, and while they might not be full of household names, there are more than enough talented players in the squad who could keep them up this year, including Liam Delap.
Delap’s start to the season
Delap cost Ipswich around £15m plus a further £5m in potential add-ons in July, and while that is a fairly significant amount of money for a young striker, it’s not unreasonable considering his 32-game stint with Hull City last season, in which he scored eight goals and provided two assists.
Moreover, in 55 games for City’s various junior sides, the Winchester-born poacher racked up a seriously impressive haul of 46 goals and 16 assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 0.88 games.
Now, while he isn’t going to recreate those sorts of numbers at Portman Road, the 21-year-old forward has got off to a flying start, finding the back of the net away to Fulham and twice in the draw at home to Champions League contending Villa.
It’s still very early in Delaps’s Ipswich career, but if he can maintain his current form of scoring a goal every 2.33 games or so, then not only will the club have a brilliant chance of staying up, but his valuation will surely exceed his fee as well. That said, the Englishman is not the only McKenna signing coming good this season.
Axel Tuanzebe’s Ipswich career
Yes, the McKenna signing in question is former Manchester United ace Axel Tuanzebe, who joined the club on a free last September, just three months after leaving the Red Devils.
