Ipswich Town and Coventry City both know that they need to bolster their squads when the summer transfer window opens up if they want to survive in the Premier League next season.
The Tractor Boys have already been relegated from the top-flight under Kieran McKenna, who must learn from that failure, and Frank Lampard has prior experience in the division with Chelsea and Everton.
Sunderland and Leeds are great examples for Lampard and McKenna to copy because they used their summer window to bring in experience and quality.
Coventry City manager Frank Lampard celebrates with the trophy after winning the Championship
The Black Cats landed the likes of Enzo Le Fee, Brian Brobbey, and Granit Xhaka, whilst Leeds signed Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha, and Noah Okafor for their attack.
With that in mind, both Ipswich and Coventry should be in the market to add genuine quality to their respective squads to improve their attacks.
Why Ipswich and Coventry both need new wingers
They should both be eyeing up new wingers to provide goals and assists from out wide, because it remains to be seen whether or not any of their current stars are ready for the Premier League.
For example, Jack Clarke scored 16 goals in the Championship for the Tractor Boys this season, but he failed to score a single goal in 32 matches in the top-flight for Ipswich in the 2024/25 campaign.
At Coventry, meanwhile, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto only scored seven goals and provided three assists in 35 appearances in the Championship for the title-winners, which does not suggest that he is going to make the step up to deliver regularly in the Premier League.
If he could not provide goals and assists week-in-week-out in the best team in the second tier, it seems unlikely that he will improve in a side that could be battling against relegation at a higher level.
Coventry City’s Tatsuhiro Sakamoto in action with Derby County’s Ebou Adams and Nathaniel Phillips
With this in mind, Ipswich and the Sky Blues should both be looking for upgrades in the wide department so that they are not left struggling for goals and creativity on the flank in the top-flight.
Now, Coventry are reportedly looking at a potential winger signing who Ipswich should be rivalling them for, as he would be an upgrade on both Clarke and Sakamoto.
The £25m forward Ipswich should rival Coventry for
The Sky Blues have opened talks to sign Leicester City winger Abdul Fatawu, who is reportedly valued at £20m, and Ipswich should join them in the race for his signature.
fatawu-leicester-sunderland
Like Sakamoto and Clarke, the Ghana international is a proven Championship star who has yet to deliver consistently in the Premier League in his career so far.
Fatawu did not score any goals and provided two assists in 11 appearances in the top-flight last term, but showed real signs of promise in his limited minutes.
24/25 PL Fatawu per 90 Rank vs RWs
xA 0.22 Top 21%
Assists 0.31 Top 17%
Successful crosses 0.94 Top 27%
Big chances created 0.31 Top 48%
Successful dribbles 4.52 Top 3%
Defensive contributions 5.77 Top 9%
Duels won 13.10 Top 1%
The forward produced impressive numbers per 90 as a creative outlet and as a defensive force for Leicester, despite their relegation back down to the Championship.
Meanwhile, in the same season, Clarke ranked in the bottom 28% of wingers for xA per 90 (0.09) and averaged fewer duels won (6.69), defensive contributions (4.77), and successful dribbles (1.92) per 90 for Ipswich.
Jack-Clarke-Dan-Neil-Ipswich
These statistics suggest that Fatawu is more likely to make a success of himself in the Premier League than Clarke if he can stay fit for a season and play regular football, should Ipswich or Coventry sign him.
The Ghana international's form in the Championship in two seasons at that level for the Foxes also shows how much quality he has with the ball at his feet, with 15 goals and 20 assists in the 2023/24 and 2025/26 campaigns combined.
Fatawu racked up nine goals and seven assists in the second tier this season for Leicester, despite their relegation, which is even more goals and assists than Sakamoto managed as a regular starter for title winners Coventry.
The left-footed attacker, therefore, could improve Ipswich and Coventry's squads with his ability to score and create goals on a regular basis from the right wing.
Leicester winger Abdul Fatawu
Whilst, like Sakamoto and Clarke, he is still unproven in the Premier League, the £20m-rated talent seems to have more of the required tools at his disposal to shine in the top-flight than both of them.
Therefore, Ipswich must push to rival Coventry to the signing of the Leicester star now that they have been relegated down to League One and may have to cash in on some of their star players.
Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka Related
[Their answer to Xhaka: Ipswich must rival Coventry to signing "perfect" star](https://www.footballfancast.com/own-xhaka-ipswich-must-rival-coventry-to-sign-mason-mount/ "Their answer to Xhaka: Ipswich must rival Coventry to signing "perfect" star")
Coventry or Ipswich could sign their own version of Granit Xhaka.