Ipswich Town suffer transfer blow in pursuit of Como striker Ivan Azon - Kieran McKenna has confirmed it | OneFootball

Ipswich Town had been expected to bring in the Como striker Ivan Azon, but Kieran McKenna has now confirmed that the move will not be happening.

Ipswich Town will not be completing the loan signing of Como striker Ivan Azon, with manager Kieran McKenna confirming that a deal could not be agreed for the Spaniard.

Ipswich drew their second Championship match of the season 1-1 with Southampton on Sunday lunchtime, a result that leaves them with two points so far this season, albeit from two tricky games against Birmingham City and the Saints. They were also eliminated from the EFL Cup League Two Bromley in midweek, on penalty kicks.

Having lost Liam Delap at the start of the summer transfer window to Chelsea, the Tractor Boys have spent much of the summer looking for a replacement to score the goals to fire them back to the Premier League following their relegation at the end of last season, but as of yet, aside from the loan addition of Chuba Akpom from Ajax, attacking additions have been sparse.

Kieran McKenna rules out possibility of Ivan Azon signing for Ipswich Town

Speaking after the 1-1 draw with Southampton, McKenna was unequivocal about the news that Azon's transfer would not be happening, telling the East Anglian Daily Times, "The deal hasn't progressed. I won't say anything other than that out of respect to all parties.

"He's not a player we expect to join the club in this window."

Azon was set to sign for the Suffolk outfit on a €2 million loan deal with an obligation to buy for just under €15 million should promotion be won back to the Premier League this season, as per Fabrizio Romano, but McKenna will now have to look elsewhere for competition for George Hirst at the top end of the pitch.

McKenna also refused to comment on Nordsjaelland winger Sindre Walle Egeli, with Tipsbladet reporting that Ipswich are closing in on a £17.3 million deal for the 19-year-old winger, who scored nine times last season in the Danish Superliga and is a full Norway international.

Ipswich Town's early-season results demonstrate why they need reinforcements

The reasons why the transfer of Ivan Azon from Como to Ipswich didn't happen were not touched upon by McKenna. It had previously been reported that the Como head coach Cesc Fabregas had said that the player had travelled to England, and it was subsequently also reported that this had been confirmed by McKenna.

With the Ipswich manager remaining tight-lipped on the reasons for the loan move collapsing, any explanations for the move not pressing ahead are mere speculation, though it should be added that Ipswich weren't the only club interested in taking on the striker, having hijacked Valencia's initial loan move for him.

The sale of Omari Hutchinson to Forest means that Ipswich have raised £67.5 million this summer from the sale of just two players, and with two weeks of the transfer window still to run and a lot of money raised, they will not be short of options to replace Liam Delap and Hutchinson - but their failure to win any of their first three games of this season does hint at why it's important that they do so before the window closes.