The free-scoring £12.7m striker set to be Ipswich's back-up plan if they can't sign Broja

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Ipswich Town have been linked with a striker who’s been scoring plenty of goals in Belgium - can he make the grade in the Premier League?

Ipswich Town have had a baptism of fire upon their return to the Premier League. They have suffered defeats against both Liverpool and Manchester City which, although perhaps expected, also highlighted the enormity of the task ahead for Kieran McKenna and his team, and the amount of work they will need to do to get up to scratch in every area – but as they work their way through the last week of the transfer window, it’s becoming clear that it’s the attack that the manager wants to strengthen the most.

Sammie Szmodics and Jack Clarke have arrived with hugely impressive Championship seasons still visible in the rear-view mirror while Liam Delap has signed permanently, all of which should give the Tractor Boys an injection of creativity and threat in the final third – but they clearly aren’t done just yet, as reports suggest that they continue to work on a deal for Chelsea’s Armando Broja despite the move’s near-collapse a few days ago. Should the issues surrounding that potential signing prove impossible to resolve, however, they need a back-up plan. That could be where Kévin Denkey comes into the picture.

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A 23-year-old Togolese international forward who currently plays in Belgium for Cercle Brugge, Denkey scored 23 goals in 28 Pro League games last season and has spent much of the summer being monitored by clubs right around Europe. Both Bayer Leverkusen and Real Sociedad were alleged to be looking at him, but a move has yet to materialise. Now, according to a report from Sport Witness, Ipswich are adding their name to the list of suitors. But can Denkey score the goals required to keep them in the Premier League?

Denkey moved with his family to France as a small boy and came through the academy at Nîmes before Cercle Brugge signed him back in 2021, but he was a rotational player until the 2022/23 season. Since then, he’s improved quickly and bagged 44 goals in 87 games for his club and scored five for his country.

A relatively traditional striker, Denkey plays centrally and seldom looks to drift out wide or drop too deep to look for possession – he likes to stay close to the last defender in the hope of getting a chance to break quickly onto a through ball or to play the hold-up role with his back to goal.

That traditional ‘number nine’ style of play suggests that he would link up well with players like Szmodics who thrive on finding pockets of space and darting into good areas to receive quick lay-offs – but he’s a goalscorer in his own right, too.

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His confident, assured finishing stands out, as does his knack for finding a way to grab an unexpected half-yard of space from an opposing defender. He rarely blasts the ball or scores screamers, he just does the simple things very well, losing his markers and sidefooting home time and again.

The big question for Denkey, and indeed any player stepping up from leagues at the same level as the Belgian Pro League, is whether they will find it quite so straightforward to shake off defenders at a higher level, and that’s the question Ipswich have to find an answer to. At first glance, he does lack some of the traits elite central strikers tend to have – he’s quick enough but doesn’t have explosive acceleration and his technique isn’t exceptional, with a first touch that can let him down.

It’s also noticeable, when looking over his many goals from last season, that he frequently profited from slack marking and was granted space through the middle far too easily. One can hardly criticise Denkey for ruthlessly taking his chances, but he hasn’t proven the ability to earn them against top-level centre-backs.

Sport Witness’ article suggests that he is likely available for a fee in the region of €15m (£12.7m), which isn’t cheap for a newly-promoted side but certainly wouldn’t be excessive if he is someone who can score 10 goals in the Premier League and create the space and opportunities for the likes of Szmodics and Clarke to do their part. What McKenna and his transfer now have to do is make their best guess as to whether he can make the grade or not – or, failing that, stick to Plan A and sign Broja, of course. But anything can happen before deadline day, especially when Chelsea are involved…

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