Ipswich Town must land transfer reunion with ex-Spurs man - on one condition | OneFootball

Ipswich Town have lacked a prolific goalscorer all season but there is a former loanee who could do a job for them, albeit only if they go up.

Ipswich Town are still in the chase for a place back in the Premier League, and should they get there, there's one striker who could return to their radar.

In third place in the Championship table and just two points short of second-placed Middlesbrough with a game in hand, Ipswich Town are still very much in the mix for a return to the Premier League, come the end of this season.

Following relegation from the top-flight at the end of 2024-25, the Tractor Boys are finding that a quick return is far from straightforward, but they've only dropped four points in their last six games and are well-placed to capitalise on any slip-ups from the teams above them.

But one of the bigger problems that Ipswich have faced this season has been the lack of a reliable goalscorer, which would be extremely beneficial to them as a focal point around which they could base their attacking play, should they return to the Premier League come the end of this season.

Troy Parrott could be the reliable goalscorer that Ipswich Town need if they can get back to the Premier League

Options for newly-promoted clubs into the Premier League over strikers can be limited, but there is one player that may interest Kieran McKenna in the summer who's spent time at Portman Road before.

The former Spurs striker Troy Parrott spent the second half of the 2020-21 season on loan at Ipswich, scoring twice in 18 appearances for them in League One. Parrott's record at Portman Road wasn't stellar, but it's been five years since he was last with the club, and he has developed tremendously as a player since then.

Spurs sold him to the Dutch club AZ in 2024, and he's shone in the Eredivisie over the last couple of seasons, scoring 14 goals in the league throughout the 2024-25 season, and having already matched that total again this season in just 22 League appearances for them in 2025-26 despite an injury which kept him out of their team from August until October.

Parrott has also raised his profile this season with his performances for the Republic of Ireland national team. He scored five goals in two games - two against Portugal followed by a hat-trick in their dramatic final game away to Hungary - to secure them a place in the World Cup play-offs, making him a national hero on the other side of the Irish Sea.

Ipswich could move for a Parrott reunion, but they may need to be in the Premier League to do so

It's not that Ipswich Town are struggling to score goals this season. The 66 that they've scored in their 37 games is the second-highest total in the division behind leaders Coventry City. But those goals have been spread around, with only two players - Jack Clarke and Anis Mehmeti - having reached double-figures. Only four players - Clarke and Mehmeti, as well as Jadon Philogene and George Hirst - have scored more than five for them in the League this season. Of those four, only Hirst is a recognised striker.

There is, however, one condition to such a move happening. Parrott's profile was raised by a significant degree as a result of his goalscoring exploits for the Republic of Ireland this season, and were he to return to England to play, it's unlikely that he would do so in order to sign for a club playing in the Championship. Should Ipswich decide that they want a reunion with him, they will likely need to be back in the Premier League in order to achieve it.

And that return is starting to feel achievable again, as the season reaches its closing straits. Middlesbrough are wobbling, with just two wins from their last seven matches, while Ipswich ascended to third place as a result of Millwall, who had been the division's form team, losing at home to relegation candidates Blackburn Rovers.

Troy Parrott's sensational form in the Netherlands and for his national team will have pushed him onto the radar of many clubs, and it may rise still higher should the Republic of Ireland get through the play-offs and secure themselves a place in the finals.

Parrott was a teenager the last time he was at Portman Road, and it's been clear that his game has developed significantly since then. Ipswich Town will need a reliable goalscorer should they get back to the Premier League at the end of this season, and this exciting young striker might well provide them with an answer.