"Around the £15m mark" - Ipswich Town ace eyed by West Ham: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

With the January transfer window now behind us, rumours regarding the next EFL stars who could potentially make the step up to the Premier League are already beginning to circle ahead of the summer.

West Ham want Ipswich Town's Leif Davis but face Newcastle United competition

Ipswich Town star Leif Davis is the latest name to be linked with a Premier League move, and it hardly comes as a surprise given the season he is currently having for the Tractor Boys.

According to TalkSPORT's transfer notebook, Premier League outfit West Ham are keeping tabs on the 24-year-old with a view to a potential move this summer.

The Hammers may face strong competition to land Davis if they do go in for him, though, as Davis' beloved Newcastle United are also said to be keeping tabs on the full-back.

Ipswich Town set for substantial Leif Davis profit

With the above in mind, we got thinking about the potential move and what it could mean for Ipswich Town.

What sort of fee would Davis command, for example? And, is he ready for Premier League football?

Some of our FLW writers have discussed those points below.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

Leif Davis has been brilliant in the Championship so far this season, thriving in a well-functioning Ipswich Town side.

After registering 14 assists in League One last campaign, not many would have thought he would be able to get close to that kind of number in the Championship. However, given he is on 12 assists in the second tier currently, with 15 games to go, the chances are he is going to surpass last year's tally.

When Ipswich forked out a reported £1m plus for Davis in League One last season, eyebrows were raised, but he has gone on to more than justify the club spending that price tag.

Furthermore, amid interest from West Ham United, and of course Newcastle, Ipswich would surely be set for a big profit if they do decide to cash in on the 24-year-old this summer.

Indeed, if West Ham are to sign Davis, given that the player still has one year, plus the option for a further year on his current deal, you'd think that the Hammers would be looking at an eight-figure fee to prise him away from Portman Road, or in other words, at least £10 million.

That would be the sort of fee I'd demand as Ipswich Town, anyway.

The Tractor Boys' hand could be strengthened further if they themselves go on to win promotion to the Premier League, though.

Ben Wignall

Davis has always had the potential since he broke through at Leeds United, but he's had to deal with his setbacks, such as not being wanted by the Whites anymore and also sitting on the bench a lot at Bournemouth on loan.

The drop to League One with Ipswich though was perhaps the best thing that could've happened to the left-back though as he got regular football and was the dominant player in his position in the third tier last season.

His progression hasn't stopped either on his return to the Championship, and a tally of 12 assists in 31 matches from his position is quite frankly a ridiculous total.

It's going to be sooner rather than later as to when Davis makes the move to the Premier League, and if Ipswich fail to win promotion this season then you can expect the defender to head to the top flight.

West Ham are an attractive proposition who could have European football to offer, although Emerson Palmieri is playing decent in that position right now and is only 29, so regular first-team football may not be a given.

You'd imagine Davis will cost around the £15 million mark to prize away from Ipswich, and if they don't go up, they will probably reluctantly cash in in order to not get in the way of his top flight aspirations - although it would have to be for the right price.