Ipswich and Coventry City must fight to sign “Kane regen” from Tottenham.

Ipswich Town and Coventry City will be delighted to have secured promotion to the Premier League using the automatic spots, as the Spygate scandal involving Southampton looms over the Championship.

The looming Championship final could be postponed, thanks to Saints’ spy tactics.

Thankfully, the Bulldozer Boys and the Sky Blues haven’t experienced any such delays, as both have been top-flight officials since the start of May, with strong wins over Queens Park Rangers and Watford to secure the top two spots.

Although both scored a bucket load on the final day of the season to comfortably secure their Premier League status – as QPR and the Hornets conceded seven goals in a row – the top-flight is an entirely different kettle of fish, as the promoted duo continue to try and link up with a host of new midfielders new to the punishing division.

Ipswich and Coventry target new strikers

Between them last season in league play, both Frank Lampard’s champions and Kieran McKenna’s men would hit 177 strikes.

Unfortunately for the Tractor Boys, they know that scoring goals in the second tier means very little if they jump, having scored a paltry 36 goals in the 2024/25 season, when they were relegated.

Coventry could be on the offensive, which is why both of the promoted sides have been linked with players like Lois Openda to improve their attacking positions, with Openda a known goalscorer in leagues like the Bundesliga and Ligue 1.

With Troy Parrott also reportedly tickling their fancy, after a 23-goal season on the books for AZ Alkmaar, it’s clear what position the Premier League giants are putting in for an early summer buy.

There is another target in both clubs’ plans who could be the next Liam Delap in the Premier League, which will attract the attention of the Tractor Boys fans.

Ipswich and Coventry could battle for new Delap

Delap would set the Premier League on fire last season for Suffolk, with his top-flight 12 goals, from just 32 league starts, meaning he was a rare bright spark at Portman Road.

Regarded as a “monster” in front of goal, according to Ipswich team-mate Alex Palmer, Chelsea will move in for the 23-year-old when the Tractor Boys’ relegation to the second tier was confirmed, much to the dismay of the Ipswich faithful.

So, if Ipswich have a chance of snapping up a striker like Delap this summer, they should go all in, with Tottenham Hotspur youngster Will Lankshear perhaps ticking all the right boxes in this regard.

According to Football Insider, the promoted side have been interested in the past, and with Leeds United said to be keen to move on this summer, it would not be surprising to see Ipswich return their interest, after Lankshear scored a promising 12 goals last season on loan at Oxford United.

Coventry could be in pursuit of his signature, as they try to tap into their style of Delap, who can score goals to try and stave off relegation.

After all, Delap was once in the same boat as Lankshear as an eye-opening academy product at Manchester City who benefited from a number of EFL loan spells, scoring 12 goals – the exact same amount as the U’s loanee at one point – from the 68 second-tier exit to the likes of Hull City.

Now, the 23-year-old is a £30m talent after a spell in red at Portman Road, and Lankshear wants to be the leading man at a club like Ipswich or Coventry, similarly, when he emerges from the shadow of a strong youth career at Spurs.

26 goals for the U21z, and one top-flight strike for the North London giants led to the 21-year-old being dubbed “Harry Kane regen” by one scout at X, with Matt Bloomfield commenting that he will “go to the top”.

Ipswich and Coventry could soon give Lankshear a platform to live up to all this dominance, with McKenna and Co keeping their fingers crossed that he can be another Delap-style revelation, only this time, survival is achieved.

In the Sky Blues’ corner, they will be willing to gamble, as the Tractor Boys did against Delap last season, as they try to recruit the right players to improve their chances of survival.