Derby County must plot move for £7m Ipswich Town man - It’s not Sammie Szmodics | OneFootball

Derby County should look to sign Chuba Akpom from Ipswich Town this summer

Derby County will be targeting a place in the Championship top eight next season after a much-improved campaign last time around, as John Eustace prepares his Rams squad for next year with some key additions in the transfer market.

Having finished just above the relegation zone in 2025, Derby head coach John Eustace sought major improvements from the Rams squad, and following the addition of the likes of Patrick Agyemang, Carlton Morris, Lewis Travis, and Rhian Brewster, they climbed their way to 8th last season.

Defeat on the final day at home to Sheffield United meant Derby could no longer be in contention for a play-off place, but it was huge strides of improvement for the club nevertheless.

Now, Eustace will be targeting a similar outcome next time around, and following the £6 million addition of Bobby Clark after a successful loan spell and the free signing of Charlie Taylor, will be aiming for more signings to improve the squad.

The likes of Ben Brereton Diaz, Jaydon Banel, Sammie Szmodics, and David Ozoh have departed the club after their loan spells ended, as Eustace should plot a move for a player who earned promotion to the Premier League last season to replace the array of outgoing attacking talent.

Derby County should look to sign Chuba Akpom from Ipswich Town this summer

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Having confirmed the permanent capture of Clark from RB Salzburg after a successful loan spell, moves for more of their previous loan players could well be on the cards.

Eustace has previously stated his desire to bring back the majority of his loan contingent, telling Derbyshire Live: "Obviously I've spoken to all the players. They love playing for Derby, they love being here. From that point of view, I think they'd all love to stay but everything else is out of my hands."

Brereton Diaz made 40 league appearances during his stay at Pride Park, David Ozoh made 33, Banel began to find his feet in the latter stages of the season after joining on loan from Burnley in January, whilst Szmodics scored three and assisted once in 13 league games after joining from Ipswich Town in the winter window.

A return move for Szmodics is not yet out of the question for Derby, though Eustace should consider a move for one of his Tractor Boys teammates instead, in the form of Chuba Akpom.

Akpom, 30, has had numerous spells in the EFL with clubs such as Brentford, Coventry City, Hull City, Brighton and Hove Albion, Middlesbrough, and most recently Ipswich, but it was with Boro where he endured his most fruitful spell.

The former Arsenal youth player hit 28 goals and grabbed two assists in 38 league games across the 2022/23 season for Middlesbrough in the Championship, and tempted Ajax to part ways with upwards of €14 million (£11.9 million) shortly after.

A spell in Amsterdam was followed by one in France with Lille, as the Englishman joined Ipswich on loan last summer with an obligation to buy for around £7 million, which has now been triggered following their promotion to the Premier League.

However, with less than 900 minutes of league football across the course of last campaign, Akpom's permanent move almost certainly wouldn't have become so had Ipswich instead had the option, with the 30-year-old presenting a problem for incoming boss Gary O'Neil.

With Szmodics returning to Portman Road to reunite with Akpom, Derby and Eustace ought to be on the phone with the Suffolk-based outfit once again, but this time for the services of the former Boro star.

Although his minutes were drastically limited last time around due to the likes of Anis Mehmeti, Marcelino Nunez, George Hirst, and Ivan Azon for competition, only a fool would deny his quality.

In the 2022/23 campaign with Boro, Akpom displayed an extremely high level of quality throughout the year, and benefited hugely from being made the main man under Michael Carrick.

Finishing as the division's outright top scorer, according to FotMob, Akpom scored 28 from 50 shots on target, a more than 50 per cent conversion rate, won 60 aerial duels, displaying his capability of acting as a focal point, won 85 fouls, and overperformed his expected goals by 6 (22.02).

He would do incredibly well to come close to replicating those numbers again in his career, but still just 30, he ought to be in and around his prime.

Ipswich may be looking to move him on already, with a loan move being the most likely route for both teams to go down to strike a deal, as Derby should forget about Szmodics and turn his attention to Akpom, who could provide another option to Morris and Salvesen up top, or act as a number ten behind the main centre-forward.

John Eustace would be remiss to not consider a move for Ipswich Town forward

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Eustace has a habit of signing players who once had great seasons but were never able to really replicate it elsewhere.

Brereton Diaz, Szmodics, and Morris have all been regulars in the EFL for the majority of their careers, but each have only hit 20-plus goals just once during their time in the Championship.

Akpom would fall into that same bracket, and is capable of covering numerous positions in a variety of systems, the Englishman looks like a Eustace signing all over, and the 46-year-old should be considering bringing him to Derby this summer.