Ipswich Town interested in Brighton striker but face significant Serie A hurdle | OneFootball

Evan Ferguson has been eyed up by Ipswich, but they may be too late to strike a deal for the Irishman

Ipswich Town reportedly have an interest in Brighton starlet Evan Ferguson - although they may end up being too late to strike a deal for the Republic of Ireland international.

The Tractor Boys are still on the hunt for a Liam Delap replacement following his £30 million move to Chelsea earlier this summer, and they're only really just starting to get rolling in the transfer market with the recent acquisitions of Cedric Kipre and Azor Matusiwa.

George Hirst's contract extension is a sign that he will have a big role to play under Kieran McKenna in the 2025-26 Championship season, but he needs more at the top end of the pitch - one transfer target however may already be stretching further out of reach.

Evan Ferguson of interest to Ipswich Town but AS Roma advance in transfer talks

According to journalist Mike McGrath, Ipswich are one of the clubs that are interested in Brighton's Evan Ferguson, whose development has somewhat stalled in recent times after exploding onto the scene for the Seagulls.

There are several rivals though who are also keen on the 20-year-old centre-forward though, namely AFC Bournemouth, who are "long-term admirers" of him.

However, Italian giants AS Roma remain in talks with Brighton to take Ferguson on loan for the 2025-26 season, and they are leading Serie A rival Fiorentina in the race to sign the young forward on a temporary basis, meaning Ipswich's "interest" may end up proving futile.

Ferguson made a big impact for Brighton in the 2022-23 Premier League season, particularly in the second half of it as he netted six goals in 19 top flight appearances, going on to win the club's Young Player of the Year in the process.

He was less prolific the following campaign with another six goals, but this time from 27 Premier League outings, but he was to suffer a knee injury in late March 2024 and not return to action six months later in September, and after struggling to make an impact under Fabian Hurzeler, he was loaned to West Ham for the second half of 2024-25, but that yielded zero goals from eight appearances.

Ipswich Town need a new striker ASAP - whether it's Evan Ferguson or not

The new Championship season is closing in, with Ipswich themselves involved in the first fixture of the campaign as they travel to Birmingham City on August 8, but there's still a lot of uncertainty regarding who will be in Kieran McKenna's plans.

Omari Hutchinson is the latest player to be linked away, with Brentford very keen to land the England youth international, but whilst McKenna has plenty of cover out wide and in the number 10 position where he operates, the same cannot be said for the centre-forward spot.

George Hirst's competitors are Ali Al-Hamadi, who didn't pull up any trees on loan at Stoke City last season, but that is it in terms of out-and-out strikers - albeit Nathan Broadhead can probably operate there too.