Data reveals Ipswich Town’s perfect Liam Delap replacement is 9-goal French striker | OneFootball

FBRef has suggested that the most similar player to Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap is 22-year-old Nantes forward Matthis Abline.

As they prepare for a return to the Championship next season, Ipswich Town don’t initially appear one of the teams that are expected to be busiest during this summer’s transfer window but there are a few issues for the Tractor Boys to work through.

The expectation is that Liam Delap will depart the club with Kieran McKenna already confirming that he can speak to other clubs, and Chelsea are the latest club said to be closing in on the signing of the Manchester City academy graduate.

In order to replace Delap, Ipswich will have the fee from his sale as well as Premier League parachute payments to work with as they seek an immediate return to the top-flight of English football.

One man that leads the list for players that Ipswich should identify as a similar profile of player with similar characteristics is Nantes’ France U21 international striker Matthis Abline.

Abline the most similar to Delap

According to the data provided by FBRef, the most similar player to Delap is Abline, who notched nine times for Nantes in Ligue 1 this season as they once again narrowly escaped relegation from the

French top-flight.

The Canaries’ striker does seem to remain a slightly weaker striker in terms of his shooting, with 26 shots on target from 73 efforts, whilst Delap managed 29 in 66.

Abline did manage to get off more shots in total per 90 minutes than the Englishman but he was in a Nantes side that were more competitive in Ligue 1 than Ipswich in the Premier League.

Perhaps due to the fact that both sides did struggle, but also an indication that they offer a similar amount of work ethic in their own half, Delap touched the ball 107 times in his team’s defensive third, whilst Abline touched the ball 109 times.

They also put in the same amount of tackles – as well as the same amount of tackles in the final third, which would indicate Abline’s ability to press is similar to that of Delap, which is something he has earned himself a reputation for.

A key difference would be that Delap overperformed his expected goals by 2.7, whilst Abline only overperformed by 0.5 – albeit Abline should get more chances created him for him at a lower level in the Championship so that would be offset if Ipswich did opt to move for the 22-year-old.

In contrast, though, Delap, known for his all-round game, actually had a much smaller expected assists tally of just 1.4, in comparison to Abline’s impressive 3.4.

Ipswich’s need to be careful this summer

Ipswich spent heavily last summer and even in the winter transfer window to bring in players that have excelled at Championship level in the last couple of seasons.

The likes of Jacob Greaves, Sammie Szmodics, Jack Clarke, Chiedozie Ogbene and Jaden Philogene are already at Portman Road, supplementing a squad that gained promotion from the second-tier a couple of seasons ago.

That means that McKenna is in a good position to be able to pick and choose the players he believes he needs, without the desperation of simply needing to get bodies in.

Ipswich have raised the floor of their squad in the last couple of transfer windows and they are now in a position whereby they can aim to push their ceiling even higher – and Abline’s stats, especially at the age of 22, would indicate he would be a shrewd pick-up for the Tractor Boys.