Why Man City player could be Ipswich Town’s secret weapon — they cannot let Stoke City hijack deal | OneFootball

Divin Mubama could follow in fellow Manchester City academy star Liam Delap's footsteps, but Stoke City have their eyes on him too

Ipswich Town may have the 2023/24 Championship top scorer on their books, but after the departure of Liam Delap, a new striker to help complement Sammie Szmodics will likely be near the top of their summer shopping list.

It was in late May that journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that the Tractor Boys were interested in Manchester City starlet Divin Mubama, and Fraser Fletcher has since detailed that a loan move for Mubama to Stoke City is a "real possibility."

Mark Robins' Potters are in desperate need of attacking reinforcement after a season where they averaged less than a goal a game in the Championship, and Mubama's goalscoring record for Manchester City's U21 side makes for exciting viewing.

The 20-year-old holds a lot of promise to take that into a regular first-team role, and Kieran McKenna simply should not let the prospect of signing a potential star slip through his grasp.

Divin Mubama has the potential to hit the ground running in the Championship

Divin Mubama already has first-team experience in the Premier League during his time at West Ham United, making eight appearances throughout his spell at the Hammers.

He added one extra at Manchester City last term against Ipswich, and started and scored in their 8-0 rout of Salford City in the FA Cup third round.

Additionally, he scored and assisted in his two appearances in the 2022/23 UEFA Conference League campaign, which West Ham went on to win.

So, when called upon, Mubama knows how to deliver for whichever team he plays for, and he's shown this past season that he's simply too good for U21 football, scoring 16 times in 13 Premier League 2 games this past season as Manchester City won the competition.

With all the momentum he's picked up during his young career thus far, Mubama has all the potential to head into a Championship side next season and contribute immediately.

Ipswich Town would be a better fit for Divin Mubama - they shouldn't let Stoke City beat them to a deal

Stoke's creative outlet was rather stale last season, with just three players scoring more than three goals across the entire Championship campaign.

Now, Mark Robins will obviously look to improve that this summer, and Divin Mubama would be a step towards doing that, but in Ipswich, the 20-year-old will be joining a side already filled with Championship-proven attacking talent, which he could play off of.

The likes of Szmodics, Jack Clarke and Jaden Philogene have already shown that they can be incredibly dangerous in the second tier, and Kieran McKenna has also retained the majority of players who contributed a league-best 92 goals when the Tractor Boys were promoted in the 2023/24 campaign.

Inserting Mubama into that side would mean that the 20-year-old wouldn't be their out-and-out source for goals, which could benefit the City youngster as not as much pressure would be on him to immediately hit the ground running.

And then there's also the chance that playing with this calibre of players at Portman Road would lead Mubama to up his game to that level and become a dangerous frontman for a side already deep in attacking talent.

However, more recent reports do suggest that Stoke could be the frontrunners for a Mubama loan deal, and Ipswich have been linked with other strikers such as Patrick Agyemang.

If Ipswich did let this one slip away, they'll be hoping that Mubama doesn't come back to bite them at whichever team he plays for next season, if the 20-year-old does end up in the second tier.