Ipswich Town snubbed £5m goal machine - Kieran McKenna must regret it right now | OneFootball

Ipswich Town were interested in former Nottingham Forest and Stoke City striker Sam Surridge in January

It's not been quite the scintillating season as expected from Ipswich Town following their relegation from the Premier League, yet the Tractor Boys have their automatic promotion fate in their hands.

After suffering a swift relegation from the top flight after just one season back at the pinnacle of English football, Ipswich looked to be one of the favourites to go straight back up.

Despite losing the likes of Liam Delap, Omari Hutchinson, and Nathan Broadhead for lucrative fees, as well as stalwarts such as Marcus Harness, Luke Woolfenden, Sam Morsy, and Massimo Luongo also leaving, a strong array of incomings offset any fears of a drop-off in the squad.

Azor Matusiwa, Sindre Walle Egeli, Ivan Azon, and Cedric Kipre all came through the Portman Road door to join Kieran McKenna's side, as the Northern Irish boss was tasked with rebuilding his side after numerous departures.

Despite this, the Tractor Boys have stood firm, and whilst they haven't quite hit the heights many had expected them to, with eight games remaining, their fate is in their hands.

With one less game played than the teams around them and two points off Middlesbrough in second place, should they win their game in hand, they would go second.

However, automatic promotion could well have already been in their grasp had they chosen to follow through with a January move for a player who almost outscored Lionel Messi just last season.

Ipswich Town were interested in signing English striker Sam Surridge from Nashville

Ipswich had reportedly held an interest in Nashville striker Sam Surridge over the January window, with the Englishman having just enjoyed an incredible campaign in the MLS.

The Bournemouth academy product had previously spent time on loan with the likes of Yeovil Town, Oldham Athletic, and Swansea City before securing a permanent move to Stoke City in the summer of 2021.

However, his time in the Potteries didn't last long, completing a permanent move to Nottingham Forest just six months later, which he helped to earn promotion to the Premier League with.

His game time in the top flight dwindled, and after 18 months at the City Ground, he'd move to Stateside, completing a £5 million move to Tennessee outfit Nashville in the summer of 2023.

12 goals in his first season were doubled in the next, scoring 24 times and grabbing three assists in 34 MLS games, only narrowly outscored by a certain Lionel Messi.

Unsurprisingly, this form didn't go unnoticed, as alongside both Premier League sides Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United, Ipswich wanted to bring the 27-year-old to Portman Road over the winter.

Surridge was joined by Joel Piroe on the Tractor Boys' wishlist of striker targets, though no move for either ever materialised, and Ipswich have been left with just George Hirst and Ivan Azon to choose from, both of whom have been relatively uninspiring in front of goal this season.

Had they signed Surridge, he almost certainly would have been an upgrade on McKenna's current options and may well have scored some crucial goals between January and now, which could have seen Ipswich find themselves in a stronger position in comparison to the one they are in now.

Kieran McKenna may regret not signing a striker in January if Ipswich Town miss out on promotion

Should Ipswich not secure an immediate promotion back to the Premier League this season, McKenna may well look back on the January transfer window as a real missed opportunity.

It was made clear that the Northern Irish boss was not wholly satisfied with his current attacking options, even late on in the January window, having seen a bid upwards of £15 million for Millwall's Femi Azeez rejected.

This is despite breaking the Championship transfer record for Norwegian winger Sindre Walle Egeli only in the summer, paying FC Nordsjaelland £17.5 million for his services, playing in the same position as Azeez.

Though their current striker options in George Hirst and Ivan Azon haven't impressed, McKenna would have been better off pursuing another option in the centre-forward role.

Hirst has netted nine times this season, whilst Azon only five — not the numbers you'd be hoping for from a striker in a side battling for automatic promotion.

In tight games against each of Leicester City, Stoke City, and Millwall, where they drew in all three, a clinical centre-forward could have been the difference in those fixtures, and had they signed Surridge, he may well have had the impact required.

Despite this, their fate is in their hands, and McKenna must find a way to fire Ipswich back to the Premier League without another striker, although the job could well be closer to being done had they signed Surridge.