The £750k Ipswich Town transfer that helped kickstart amazing times at Portman Road | OneFootball

The 2021 purchase of Conor Chaplin kickstarted Ipswich Town's road to success.

Ipswich Town's rapid rise from League One to the Premier League was a truly remarkable story.

Having spent three years in the midtable reaches of the third tier, the arrival of Kieran McKenna and a number of new signings got the Tractor Boys back on track.

A second-place finish in 2022-23 secured their promotion, and just a year later, they astonished the Championship with a remarkable campaign. Locked in a fierce battle against Leeds United and Leicester City, Ipswich were the underdogs, but on the 4th of May 2024, they secured promotion with a crucial win against Huddersfield Town at Portman Road.

This monumental rise in the space of just two years is down to numerous factors, but a player who played a key role was Conor Chaplin.

The now 27-year-old was signed from Barnsley back in 2021 for a deal worth £750,000. This has proven to be a real bargain and looking back, the Tykes will feel they let a player of immense quality slip through their hands lightly.

While his contribution to Ipswich's Championship promotion was stellar, it was at League One level where he was the difference maker.

Locked in a battle with Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle, the Tractor Boys might not have edged out the Owls for that second automatic promotion spot without Chaplin's invaluable presence in their ranks.

Predominantly playing as a second striker, he managed to net 26 goals in 45 matches, making him the division's joint top goalscorer with Jonson Clarke-Harris of Peterborough United.

Throughout that campaign, he was not only a constant source of goals but also a creative force, providing five assists and crafting 68 chances for his teammates.

However, it was during the promotion run-in that Chaplin demonstrated his importance to McKenna's side. In the final 19 games, Ipswich went unbeaten, amassing an impressive 47 points from a possible 57. Chaplin was instrumental during this period, delivering when it mattered most by scoring 13 goals and providing two assists, to secure promotion from Wednesday by two points.

Chaplin took his form into the Championship

While it was always going to be hard to replicate his form from the third tier, Ipswich's number ten still played a pivotal role for McKenna last season.

Playing behind either George Hirst or Kieffer Moore for the majority of the campaign, he managed 13 goals and upped his assist tally to eight for the season. Following a similar pattern to the previous campaign, his goals continued to come at crucial points, with his strikes earning the Tractor Boys 15 points across the entirety of the Championship season.

Signed for £750,000, it’s unlikely Ipswich fans would have anticipated that a player who had previously hovered around the lower end of the Championship and League One would be instrumental in firing them to back-to-back promotions. Yet, that’s exactly what he has achieved. While Chaplin’s contributions have been vital, it’s McKenna’s ability to find him a role just behind the striker which has taken his game to another level.

The next task for the Ipswich head coach is to try and get Chaplin to have an impact on the Premier League. But, even if he fails in this task, then the six-figure fee they paid for the former Portsmouth man was well worth the money.