"Too much of a risk" - Ipswich Town eye record-breaking striker ahead of Championship return: 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...

Ipswich Town have Notts County striker Macaulay Langstaff in their sights ahead of their Championship return.

As exclusively revealed by FLW, Notts County, despite winning promotion to League Two via the National League play-offs, are fighting to keep hold of their star striker.

Langstaff scored 42 goals for the club this campaign, all of which came from open play, scooping him both the National League top scorer award, as well as the National League player of the season.

Would Langstaff be a good signing for Ipswich?

As our exclusive revealed, Ipswich are one of the sides chasing his signature, along with Wrexham and Plymouth Argyle.

With the links to the Tractor Boys in mind, below, some of our FLW writers have discussed whether Langstaff would be a decent addition at Portman Road this summer.

Having scored 42 times from open play throughout the 2022/23 National League, it's very clear that Macaulay Langstaff knows where the back of the net is.

That said, the Championship is three divisions up, and quite a leap.

I do think he could be worth the punt for Ipswich Town, though.

Don't get me wrong, signing him is by far from a banker in terms of the deal working out. However, there is something special about a player who can score that many goals, regardless of the level.

To not take his foot off the gas all season shows a real commitment to performance and scoring goals, and with the right coaching, I think he could turn out to be a decent EFL striker.

At 26, he is just entering his peak years, too, so there is no better time to make the step-up.

I certainly think it's worth the risk involved.

Josh Cole

While Langstaff did manage to excel in the National League for Notts County during the 2022/23 campaign, the Championship represents a massive step-up in quality, and he has yet to play at this level during his career.

With Ipswich preparing for a return to this division, they ought to steer clear of getting dragged into a potential bidding war for the forward.

Instead of taking a risk on Langstaff, the Blues should be focusing on signing players who have shown in recent seasons that they are capable of making a positive impact in the second tier.

By nailing their recruitment, and avoiding the temptation to take punts on players like Langstaff, there is every chance that Ipswich will go on to achieve a relative amount of success later this year with Kieran McKenna at the helm.

Alfie Burns

Langstaff is coming into the summer on the back of an incredible season and his confidence must be sky-high at this moment in time.

He's quite clearly well above the National League level, and it's not outlandish to say League Two will be a similar story.

The Championship is a big jump and there would be a lot of pressure on Langstaff heading to Portman Road. The easier jump would be to a comfortable League One side.

That's probably the sticking point for me here with Ipswich. The Tractor Boys have to nail their recruitment, and they cannot afford to sign someone like Langstaff for him not to deliver.

A more settled mid-table club in the Championship might be a better fit for Langstaff if he's got ambitions to move to the Championship this summer. That said, those clubs might have more established transfer targets.

Honestly, it feels too much of a risk for both parties, but if it comes off, I'd be intrigued to see how it plays out, such has been Langstaff's record in the last 12 months.