Life back in the Premier League has been tough for Ipswich Town this season.
Kieran McKenna's side have looked brilliant in some games and have even picked up points at the expense of some of the league's big boys, like Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, but at the moment, they find themselves down in 19th.
Fortunately, more than half of the campaign remains, and despite sitting in the relegation zone, the team is blessed with a number of very talented players, several of whom were signed in the summer.
Sam-Morsy-Ipswich
In fact, if they are to stay up this season, it'll likely be down in large part to those signings, including one who's won comparisons to a £65m international.
Ipswich's best summer signing
Before we get to the player in question, let's look at a few of Ipswich's other brilliant summer signings, starting with the sensational Sammie Szmodics.
Sammie-Szmodics-Ipswich-Spurs
The Irish international joined the Tractor Boys from Championship side Blackburn Rovers for up to £11m after a mesmerising campaign in which he scored 33 goals and provided four assists in just 48 appearances.
As the Premier League is a far tougher competition, the 29-year-old has not been as prolific this season, but his tally of three goals in 15 appearances is still a good return and, more often than not, he's one of McKenna's more dangerous attackers.
Moving into midfield now, we come to Jens Cajuste, who joined the club on a season-long loan over the summer, which, according to some reports, includes an obligation to buy should the club stay up.
We'll have to wait and see if that's true, but at the moment it would be fair to say that the Swedish international has looked reasonably impressive at the heart of midfield, helping mop up opposition attacks and then helping to start their own.
Cajuste
However, while both players and a few others signed in the summer have made their mark on Ipswich this season, one player has undoubtedly been the pick of the bunch.
Ipswich's £65m star in the making
So, based on who we've already talked about above, it should be no surprise that the signing in question is Liam Delap.
liam delap ipswich town
The 21-year-old phenom joined the club from Manchester City for £20m over the summer and has since become unquestionably one of Ipswich's most important players.
The young marksman has already scored six goals and provided one assist in just 16 league appearances - 15 of which have been starts - which equates to a reasonably impressive average of a goal involvement every 2.28 games.
Moreover, the "incredible" 6 foot 1 poacher, as dubbed by Pep Guardiola, gives his teammates a target to aim for and build around in games, which helps make the team better overall and gives the opposition something to worry about.
His brilliant start to life in the Premier League has seen him win comparisons to a number of more established strikers, including Tottenham Hotspur's Dominic Solanke.
Liam-Delap
This comparison, in particular, stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions across the Premier League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and in this instance, has concluded that the Spurs ace is the fourth most similar midfielder to the Ipswich star.
Now, to get a better idea of how this conclusion was reached, we can examine the underlying metrics in which the pair ranks most closely, metrics including but not limited to non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive carries, goals per shot, successful take-ons, passes into the penalty area and more, all per 90.
Delap & Solanke
Statistics per 90
Non-Penalty G+As
Progressive Carries
Goals per Shot
Passes into the Penalty Area
Clearances
Successful Take-Ons
Aerial Duels Won
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 PL Season
Now, seeing your striker compared to the starting number nine for a 'big six' side is already a brilliant sign for the Tractor Boys and a positive indication that the Winchester-born ace is, as Statman Dave believes, going "to the very top," but it's also good news concerning his valuation.
We say this because it was only in the summer that Bournemouth sold Solanke for a whopping £65m, and while Delap isn't worth that at this very moment, there is no reason to believe he won't be worth that and more if he keeps up his current form.
liam-delap
Ultimately, Ipswich are having a tough season this year, and survival is not guaranteed, but with their young and exciting striker, they can at least be sure that they have a superstar in the making.
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