Coventry City and Ipswich could sign 30-goal upgrade who’s “similar to Kane”

For Ipswich Town, it has only been a year since they were last in the Premier League. For Coventry City, it has been too long, 25 years in fact, since they last played top-flight football.

Fans held banners in the stands back in 2001 declaring that they would be back. Little did they know it would take a quarter of a century to do so.

Alas, once Coventry and Ipswich have finished celebrating their respective promotions, they will need to look at tackling recruitment.

At the top of the agenda for both teams should be finding a goalscorer who can secure them their Premier League status. Leeds United signed a proven forward in the shape of Dominic Calvert-Lewin last summer while Sunderland brought in Brian Brobbey. Both have excelled and are huge reasons why they have stayed up after earning promotion.

There’s a lesson there for Frank Lampard and Kieran McKenna to follow

Last season, Ipswich had Liam Delap leading the line. He impressed so much that it earned him a big-money move to Chelsea. While he was unable to keep them in the division, the Tractor Boys will be on the hunt to find their next version of Delap.

As for the Sky Blues, it will be a case of looking for their new Dion Dublin, one of their greats from eras gone by.

Who could they sign? Well, both have been linked with Swansea City’s Zan Vipotnik, the Championship’s Golden Boot winner. Valued at £15m, it would seem a smart price to pay for his signature.

Another option could be Troy Parrott. Reports towards the back end of last year suggested that Coventry were interested in signing the Irishman from AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands.

If Lampard’s side are still in the hunt, then it would not be a surprise if Ipswich are sniffing around too. Before being sold by Tottenham Hotspur, Parrott actually had a loan spell at Portman Road.

That said, he did not exactly set the world alight, scoring just twice in 18 fixtures. However, he is now a very different beast, valued as highly as £24m.

Why Parrott would be an upgrade for Coventry and Ipswich

Ruthless. That’s what you need to be in order to stay in the Premier League. Sunderland and Leeds have proven as much.

The Black Cats essentially ripped up their entire promotion-winning team. Very few members of the Championship side are still in the starting XI. Wilson Isidor was cast aside in favour of Brobbey while Joel Piroe, the second-tier’s top scorer in 2024/25 was replaced with Calvert-Lewin at Leeds.

Coventry, in particular, must take note. Hagi Wright had a fabulous season in front of goal for Lampard’s side, scoring 17 and finishing third in the scoring charts behind the aforementioned Zipotnik and Hull City’s Oliver McBurnie.

Ipswich shared the goals around a bit more with wingers Jack Clarke and Jaden Philogene bagging 38 times between them. George Hirst also chipped in with 11 strikes.

They have already announced the permanent arrival of Chuba Akpom but with just two goals in 29 league matches, he is not going to set the Premier League alight; that much is a certainty.

While Clarke and Philogene will likely still play vital parts for McKenna next term, both he and Lampard must upgrade on their strikers. Parrott represents the perfect opportunity if he leaves the Eredivisie behind.

At the moment, he is the best striker in the league. He has left Spurs and thrived. Said to be “similar to Harry Kane” by one prominent football analyst on social media, he has certainly been banging in the goals with great regularity.

After netting 20 times in 47 matches last term, the Republic of Ireland international has taken his game to a new level this season. He has 30 goals from 46 matches, with ten of those coming in the Conference League.

He’s a ruthless centre-forward, the definition of a true poacher and he could be exactly what both Ipswich and Coventry need to fire them to safety in 2026/27.

Boasting pace, aggression and directness, for Lampard he could be the club’s new Viktor Gyokeres. For McKenna, the new Delap could be on his way to Portman Road.

Regardless of who signs him, expect the Irishman to be playing Premier League football next term.