Ipswich Town backed to seal £10m Man City agreement - It's a "calculated risk" | OneFootball

Manchester City forward Divin Mubama is the latest player to be linked with a move to Ipswich Town

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Young Manchester City forward Divin Mubama has been linked with a permanent move to recently-relegated side Ipswich Town.

The potential move was reported first by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who revealed that City value him at £10million, with French side Lille also credited with an interest.

This news comes as the Tractor Boys are on the hunt for a Liam Delap replacement, also recruited from City last summer, who is now thought to be on his way to Chelsea.

We asked our Ipswich Fan Pundit, Adam Wilkin, whether Mubama’s hefty price tag would make him a risky signing.

Experience suggests Mubama is worth the risk

Speaking to Football League World, Adam said: “I think like the loan for [Marc] Guiu, Mubama's an exciting link. It's always good being linked to someone who's a young up-and-coming prospect.

“I think £10million, if that does end up being the fee, would be a risk, but it would be a calculated risk.

“I think the Premier League 2 market is a bit untapped at the moment, and you can find some hidden gems in there.

“The risk is that they've not played much senior football. Mubama has played a little bit in the Conference League, in the Europa League, for West Ham and a few appearances off the bench in the Premier League.

“He's had an outstanding season in the Premier League 2 this year, being top scorer, having signed for City.

“It's a bit surprising that they’d look to shift him permanently, having only just signed him last year, but I guess if they turn a profit, you can see why.

“I'd probably prefer a loan move, potentially with conditions to buy at the end of it, if that was how the deal could be structured.

“But we have seen it work in the past with a Premier League 2 player, with Omari Hutchinson, who again, hadn't had much senior football experience before he came to Ipswich Town on his first loan.

“The question marks were raised there, and what you saw is he slowly integrated throughout the season, and by the end of our Championship promotion-winning season, he was a key fixture in the side.

“I think, with George Hirst, as well, if we did go from Mubama, that would probably see Hirst being the main striker with Mubama kind of integrating slowly throughout the season, potentially, a bit like Hutchinson did. But it's another exciting link.”

Ipswich have two paths to consider now

Having seen such success with an emerging striker from City last season in Delap, and, as Adam mentions, with Hutchinson from Chelsea, Ipswich are now well accustomed to dealing in this market and are aware of the benefits it can bring.

However, they have also been linked to the much more experienced Emmanuel Latte Lath, who only left Middlesbrough in February and has been a top second-tier striker for a couple of seasons on the bounce.

Having paid £22.5m for him just a few months ago, Atlanta United are sure to want to recoup their initial Latte Lath investment and maybe even turn a profit.

That means landing both Latte Lath and Mubama on a permanent basis looks expensive, and with Hirst also at the club, may be seen as focusing too much of their budget in one area of the pitch.

Ipswich must therefore choose between the experience and almost guarantee of goals in Latte Lath, or the additional potential and room for development in Mubama, which could bring greater rewards further down the line.

Whichever option they choose, having to decide between two talented strikers is a nice problem for Ipswich to have.

In terms of Mubama, the Tractor Boys are now well-versed in recruiting young talent and bedding them into senior football, so Adam’s confidence in it being a calculated risk is well-founded.