There have not been many better footballing stories over the last few years than Ipswich Town's miraculous rise up the football pyramid.
Kieran McKenna's side have gone from playing League One to the Premier League in just two years, and based on their performances thus far, there's every chance they will remain in the league next season.
While there are still a number of players who helped the team on this incredible journey in the first team, like Leif Davis and Sam Morsy, the summer additions have made an enormous difference.
Ipswich-Town-1
In fact, one of them is now being compared to a Premier League star who was valued at £100m just last year.
Ipswich's summer success
So, before we get to the player in question, let's look at how some of the club's other summer signings are getting on this season, starting with one that could be seen as cheating, Omari Hutchinson.
Omari-Hutchinson-Ipswich
Yes, the former Chelsea ace did first join the Tractor Boys last summer, but he put pen to paper on a permanent contract just a few months ago, following a £20m offer from the Suffolk side, and after a slow start this season, he's starting to show just why they spent so much.
For example, he was utterly sublime in the club's win over Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, and while he didn't score or provide an assist in that match, practically everything ran through him, and as a result, he was handed a 9/10 rating from the East Anglian Daily Times' Alex Jones.
However, he went a step further in the game against Manchester United last weekend, scoring an outrageous goal from outside the penalty area and earning his team a mighty impressive point in the process.
Another summer arrival who impressed in that game was midfielder Jens Cajuste, who's on a season-long loan from Napoli with an obligation to buy should the club stay up.
Cajuste
The Swedish international was rock solid against the Red Devils and was arguably just as good against Spurs, and if he can keep up that sort of form, he may well be joining the club on a permanent next summer.
However, another of the summer signings has been even more impressive than both Hutchinson and Cajuste and has even been compared to a £100m England international.
Ipswich's stellar summer signing
So, to cut straight to the point, the player in question is Sammie Szmodics, who completed a £11m move to Ipswich in the summer from Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers.
The Irish international moved off the back of an outrageous campaign with the Lancashire outfit in which he scored 33 goals and provided four assists in 48 games, and while he's not hit those heights for the Tractor Boys, he's still looked good.
For example, while it took him a few appearances to get up to speed with his new teammates, the 29-year-old has now scored three goals in 12 appearances but only 610 minutes.
Sammie-Szmodics-Ipswich-Spurs
That means the "ridiculous" attacker, as dubbed by journalist Josh Bunting, is averaging a goal every four games, or every 203 minutes, which is not bad for a winger who's new to the league and playing in a newly promoted side.
Moreover, it wouldn't be hyperbole to suggest that the Colchester-born winger looks at home in the top flight, as he's now been compared to one of the best in his position over the last few seasons: Jarrod Bowen.
The comparison stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and in this instance, has concluded that the Englishman is the fourth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Irishman this season.
The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair ranks closely, metrics including but not limited to non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots on target, crosses into the penalty area, interceptions and tackles won, all per 90.
Szmodics & Bowen
Statistics per 90
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
Progressive Passes Received
Shots on Target
Crosses into the Penalty Area
Interceptions
Tackles Won
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 PL Season
For many, seeing one of your summer signings compared to a Premier League star who's scored a winner in a European final is brilliant in and of itself, but there is the small factor of what said comparison could mean for Szmodics' future valuation.
We say this as less than a year ago, it was revealed that West Ham valued Bowen at over £100m, which, given everything he's achieved at the club, isn't too outrageous.
Jarrod-Bowen-West-Ham
Now, while nobody would suggest Szmodics is worth even half of that, he must be worth considerably more than Ipswich paid for him in the summer.
Ultimately, whatever happens over the next six months, it's clear that McKenna and Co struck gold when they signed Szmodics in the summer, and if he can keep up his current form, then we might see him compared to more and more established stars.
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