Ipswich Town are close to agreeing a loan deal for Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham | OneFootball

Ipswich Town are close to agreeing a loan deal with Aston Villa for striker Tammy Abraham, according to the East Anglian Daily Times.

Villa manager Unai Emery is replacing Ollie Watkins with Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, while talks have been held over deals for Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta and Bayer Leverkusen’s Christian Kofane.

Abraham is seen as surplus to requirements and Ipswich want him.

He returned to the Villa Park club in January from Besiktas, making 16 appearances and weighing in with three goals.

The 28-year-old has struggled to replicate the form of his loan spell with the Midlands club back in 2018-19, when he bagged 25 goals in 37 Championship games.

Ipswich are now eyeing a loan deal, and his experience and quality could come in handy for the Premier League newcomers.

Abraham has also played for the likes of Chelsea, AC Milan, Swansea City and AS Roma, and the Tractor Boys could do with such a player.

Gary O’Neil and his men started life back in the top-flight with a 2-1 win over Sunderland last Saturday.

They have completed deals for 12 first-team players so far this summer, but they still want more to boost their survival chances.

Abdoul Ouattara, Julio Enciso, Emersonn, Abdul Fatawu, Florentino, Kjell Scherpen, Daizen Maeda, Sasa Lukic, Issa Diop, Chuba Akpom, Kayne van Oevelen and Cedric Kipre have all joined Ipswich in permanent deals in recent weeks.

Abraham could arrive on a straight loan in the coming days and O’Neil will be keen to get one or two more quality signings over the line before the transfer deadline.