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Ipswich Town are now plotting a move for an “exceptional” striker, who has 74 career goals to his name in the Championship.

Ipswich looking to boost promotion push by signing striker

Ipswich have made up considerable ground on both Middlesbrough and Coventry City over the past few weeks, having taken ten points from their past four games, which means they have moved up to third place.

Indeed, the Tractor Boys are just two points behind Boro with a game in hand, meaning they are in a very strong position to return to the Premier League at the first attempt, but Kieran McKenna remains keen on bringing in some reinforcements this month.

The manager said: “For sure, we’re going to look to add to the squad and improve the squad in the second half of the season. But, of course, the other teams will as well.”

The 39-year-old also bemoaned the fact his side haven’t scored enough goals, compared to the number of opportunities they’ve created, saying: “We need to keep working with the players individually, we need to recruit well in the window to be more clinical with the chances we get and we need to keep working on our play as a team to create more chances.”

As such, it is no surprise Ipswich are now looking to bring in a new striker, according to journalist Alan Nixon (via Football League World), who states they are plotting a move for Sheffield United star Patrick Bamford.

Interestingly, Bamford would be open to leaving the Blades, should the right offer come his way, and a move to Portman Road could be exciting, given that McKenna’s side are pushing for promotion, while Sheffield United are in 16th place.

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At the moment, the Tractor Boys are closely monitoring developments involving the centre-forward, with no formal moves made, but they could make an approach if he becomes available.

"Exceptional" Bamford is experienced in the Championship

Lauded as “exceptional” by ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, the 32-year-old is proven at Premier League level, having amassed a whopping 26 goal involvements for Leeds United during the 2020-21 campaign, while he also has plenty of Championship experience.

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Indeed, the Englishman has a stellar record in the second tier, having contributed 74 goals and 15 assists in 227 outings, and he has five goals to his name for Sheffield United in ten matches this season.

The ex-Leeds man may not be the long-term solution for Ipswich in attack, given his age and injury issues, missing large parts of the Whites’ promotion-winning 2024-25 campaign due to a muscle issue.

However, with Chuba Akpom failing to deliver, scoring two goals in 20 Championship games, McKenna could do with bringing in a new striker for the promotion run-in, and Bamford could be ideal.

Crystal Palace are now lining up a move for an “incredible” striker, amid a new update on Jean-Philippe Mateta’s future at Selhurst Park.

Mateta attracting interest from rival Premier League clubs

Mateta bagged his eighth Premier League goal of the campaign in the 1-1 draw against Fulham on New Year’s Day, but Palace are at risk of losing their star striker, amid interest from a whole host of rival English clubs.

Manchester United have been named among the potential suitors for the centre-forward, alongside the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, with the Frenchman’s future uncertain, as his contract is set to expire at the end of next season.

Given that the Eagles are set to lose Marc Guehi on a free transfer, should they decide not to cash-in on their captain this month, they may be hesitant to let another key player’s deal run down, and there has now been a new update on Mateta’s future.

According to reporter Alan Nixon (via GiveMeSport), Crystal Palace would now be prepared to sanction the striker’s departure for a fee of around £50m, given that he has thus far refused to put pen to paper on a new contract.

As such, Palace have now started searching the market for potential replacements, and they are lining up a move for Strasbourg striker Joaquin Panichelli, who has been identified as their top target at centre-forward, having impressed scouts.

The Eagles are now seriously considering replacements for Mateta, and the Strasbourg star’s goal output, physical attributes and development have caught the eye.

"Incredible" Panichelli could be exciting Mateta replacement

Of course, Palace will be hoping their current striker opts to extend his stay at Selhurst Park, given how instrumental the three-time France international has been to their recent success, slotting away 17 goals in all competitions as Oliver Glasner’s side won the FA Cup last season.

However, should the 28-year-old move on, there are indications Panichelli could be an exciting replacement, having already chipped in with 11 goals in all competitions this term.

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The Argentinian only arrived in France last summer, and scout Jacek Kulig has waxed lyrical about the way in which he has adapted to life in Ligue 1.

Crucially, Panichelli is still young at just 23-years-old, and Palace should continue to monitor his performances between now and the end of the season, at which point they may have a big decision to make about Mateta, whose contract will have just one year remaining.

Eddie Howe will enter 2026 happy that his Newcastle United troops won away at Burnley to end the year on a somewhat positive note, but will also be hoping for more as his hot-and-cold team tackles the New Year head-on.

On another night, Burnley would have taken their chances at Turf Moor and come away with a draw or even a victory, with some much-needed heroics in defence from the Toon saving their skin.

In attack, it also wasn’t the most convincing display, minus a mini flurry of goals within the first seven minutes in Lancashire, as Anthony Gordon fears he will be dropped for the next Premier League clash to come against Crystal Palace, after failing to put in a consistent display again across the full 90 minutes versus the Clarets.

Why Gordon needs to be dropped

It’s clear, when Gordon is at his very best for Newcastle, that he is one of the first names on Howe’s team sheet.

After all, the Liverpool-born forward hasn’t just fluked his Toon tally of 29 goals and 26 assists, with Gordon looking to have turned a corner this season when bagging two league goals early in December.

Before that, he was consistently drawing blanks to the frustration of the Tyneside faithful, but off the back of bagging this penalty in the reverse fixture against Scott Parker’s men, Howe would declare the former Everton man his “best player”, which has now looked to be a premature judgment.

He did pick up an assist at Turf Moor when combining with Joelinton in the very early exchanges, but the 16-time England international would cut a largely disinterested figure throughout, leading to him failing to test Martin Dubravka with a single on-target effort, as he also came up short on seven of his 14 ground duels.

Also noted as having “offered even less” than the heavily scapegoated Anthony Elanga in the Tyne-Wear Derby by one content creator, it will be interesting to see if Howe does persist with his hit-and-miss number ten for the visit of the Eagles, as he endures yet another sticky patch in the attacking areas.

It’s a sad decline, whatever does occur, when you consider Gordon was once being talked up to be on Liverpool’s shopping list for £100m, as another Newcastle stalwart unfortunately starts to fall victim to the same regression taking place with the EFL Cup-winning forward.

Howe must axe star who "doesn't look interested"

Thankfully, it’s not all just doom and gloom at St James’ Park at the moment, with Joelinton’s early effort going down as his first Premier League strike in a year, while Yoane Wissa finally got up and running for the Toon with the second goal of the night.

But, away from both players carrying Newcastle over the line with their instinctive finishing, Sandro Tonali put in another shaky display from the middle of the park, to continue his own ongoing decline.

The hope will be that the Italian is just suffering from a minor blip in form and he can change his fortunes around in the New Year, having turned himself into a “world-class” performer on English shores, as journalist Carlo Garganese once stated, after once finding himself permanently on the sidelines owing to a betting ban.

Indeed, at the start of 2025, it would have been ludicrous to suggest that Tonali should be dropped, with the 25-year-old hailed as one the Toon’s “standout” talents by podcast host Andrew Musgrove, even when Alexander Isak was still on the books,

Indeed, he collected four goals and two assists in league action all across last season, alongside averaging four duels won per Premier League contest.

Tonali’s drop in performance

Stat

vs Man United

vs Burnley

Minutes played

77

90

Goals scored

0

0

Assists

0

0

Touches

74

71

Shots

2

0

Accurate passes

48/55

49/60

Possession lost

13x

17x

Tackles won

1

0

Total duels won

5/9

2/7

Stats by Sofascore

However, Howe will soon have to face up to the fact that Tonali is regressing just like Gordon, with the former AC Milan battler winning just seven of his 15 duels across his last two outings in December.

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Moreover, he has been uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball at his feet, with possession given away a costly 17 times at Turf Moor, which is coincidentally the same number of passes the ex-Everton winger would miscalculate.

Journalist Luke Edwards, at the close of the topsy-turvy 3-1 win, would dish out some unwelcome home truths to Tonali, with Edwards stating that below-par number eight was both “dreadful” and at points “doesn’t look interested”.

There could be some weight behind that second comment, with Tonali no doubt unimpressed with his team’s drop in form, having once been touted to be an £85m-calibre performer at his St James’ Park peak.

Still, with no such big move in sight anymore, Tonali needs to buck his ideas up quickly, as the dwindling number eight could be surprisingly axed for Newcastle’s first game of the New Year versus Oliver Glasner’s men, alongside Gordon.

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