Ipswich Town may regret losing to Derby County in £7m+ transfer race | OneFootball

Patrick Agyemang joined Derby County in the summer transfer window, and Ipswich Town must wonder 'What if?' with the American in red-hot form.

Ipswich Town are going full throttle for promotion in the Championship this season, and while they have had a little bit of difficulty in the last couple of weeks, Kieran McKenna's side have turned their fortunes around in recent months.

The Tractor Boys struggled to adapt to life back in the second tier at the start of the campaign, with the Suffolk outfit languishing in mid-table. However, they have climbed up the table quickly, and are now looking to challenge Coventry City, Middlesbrough and Hull City for an automatic promotion place.

Yet, this weekend will prove a challenge for those in blue-and-white as they make the trip to Pride Park to face John Eustace's Derby County. The Rams head into the game off the back of a dominant 5-0 away victory over Bristol City, and while their home form is not particularly strong, the same can be said about Ipswich's form on the road.

For McKenna, this is a vital game, and he will need a positive result if he is to keep pace with those in the top two. Yet, there will be fears about Patrick Agyemang, with the American in fine form for the East Midlands outfit, despite interest from the Tractor Boys in the summer.

Ipswich Town must be kicking themselves after losing Patrick Agyemang transfer race to Derby County

Sammie Szmodics made his way to Derby on deadline day, joining up with Eustace on loan, and therefore he will not be available at the weekend. However, there is another threat in the forward positions at Pride Park, and that is Agyemang.

He joined the Rams for an initial £5.8m in the summer transfer window, and that fee could potentially rise to £7.3m in add-ons. But, it could have been Ipswich who secured that deal, with McKenna's team showing significant interest as well during the summer as the 25-year-old edged closer to his Charlotte FC exit.

Following relegation from the Premier League, there was perhaps an expectation that a club like the Tractor Boys would be able to win the majority of their transfer battles, but the plans that were in place for Agyemang at Derby were seemingly too much to turn down, and he made his way to Pride Park.

The USA international required a hernia operation on his arrival, but after recovering from that issue, he has been a huge asset to the Rams, with nine goals and four assists in 26 league games. Now, he will be looking to add to his tally on Saturday.

Derby County could land a significant profit with Patrick Agyemang

Agyemang has been a revelation for Derby, and his performances have caught the eye of those at other clubs. According to Football Insider, both Crystal Palace and Leeds United monitored the forward during the January transfer window, but no formal approach was made.

Nevertheless, the Rams made sure that they were able to stop any potential move for the American as they placed a £20m asking price on their number seven. For Ipswich, this will be alarming, as they now know that they are going to miss out on a huge amount of profit once the attacker eventually leaves the Championship.

With a home World Cup coming up, this is Agyemang's time to shine, and he will be looking to catch the eye of his national team manager, Mauricio Pochetinno, in the next few months. Derby will be hoping that he does make it to the tournament as this will only increase the potential fee that they may bring in for him.

Yet, in the short-term, Ipswich will hope that their failure to sign the attacker does not haunt them as he looks to make it to double digits for goals scored.