Ipswich launch bid to sign “dangerous” Broja alternative -

Ipswich Town will aim to use their newly acquired Premier League millions well this transfer window, as the prospect of top-flight Football grows ever closer for the Suffolk Club.

Kieran McKenna and Co will be cautious about overspending for the sake of it, however, which could result in the harmony of the camp being ripped up after back-to-back promotions were amazingly achieved with a tight-knit group.

Still, there will be areas in the team where the Tractor Boys manager will be wanting reinforcements, to attempt to adjust to the step-up smoothly, with another new striker target on the agenda.

Ipswich looking at Greek goal machine

According to Sport Witness, via a report in Portuguese outlet A Bola, Ipswich have already put a bid forward to try and land Panathinaikos attacker Fotis Ioannidis this summer.

It’s claimed that a bid in the region of £16.9m should be enough for the Greek Club to be tempted to part ways with their prolific centre-forward, who has also previously been on the shopping lists of West Ham United and Fulham.

The imposing 6 foot 2 forward’s signature being won by the Tractor Boys could well end their interest in Armando Broja, with their new target available for far cheaper than the Albanian’s excessive reported £35m price tag.

What Ioannidis can offer Ipswich

Ioannidis could even be seen as an upgrade on the current Chelsea man when you consider his deadly nature out in his native Greece, compared to the misfiring Broja, with Ipswich hopeful that the 24-year-old can become a goalscoring menace in the Premier League for them too.

As can be seen with the delicate finish above, despite having a towering frame, Ioannidis can score all sorts of strikes, with his reputation for Panathinaikos that of a cool finisher under pressure.

Last season, across all competitions, the in-demand number seven would amass an impressive 23 goals from 44 matches in total, with a place in the Greece national team coming his way as a result.

Ioannidis vs Broja – head-to-head league stats
*Stat = per 90 mins**	Ioannidis	Broja
Games played	27	21
Goals scored	15	1
Assists	7	1
Scoring frequency	137 mins	579 mins
Shots*	3.0	0.6
Big chances missed	9	2
Big chances created	8	1
Stats by Sofascore

Just comparing their league statistics in isolation from last season, when glancing at the table above, it’s clear why Ipswich are now setting their sights on signing Ioannidis, who looks like he would be a major upgrade in most departments on a goal-shy Broja, who really struggled last campaign for both Fulham and Chelsea.

Whereas, his 24-year-old counterpart came into his own, on the contrary, with the Athens born striker netting 23 of his overall 40 goals for his current employers in 2023/24, to live up to the “dangerous” billing he had been previously given by Football analyst Ben Mattinson.

Broja will know it’s make-or-break time for him at Stamford Bridge this summer, with the Albania international no doubt eager to find a new Club to call home soon, to reawaken a confident goalscorer within him again, instead of continuing to fire blanks.

Yet, that might not be with McKenna’s men after all, as Ipswich look set on battling it out to sign Ioannidis instead, to strengthen their already entertaining attacking positions, ahead of the new and exciting Premier League campaign.