Town are closing in on the deadline-day signing of Burton Albion striker Gassan Ahadme.

We understand the 21-year-old is expected at Portman Road later today to complete the formalities on a permanent switch to the Blues with the transfer window closing at 11pm.

Ahadme, who was born in Spain but has represented Morocco at U23 level, impressed when facing the Blues for the Brewers in Town’s 1-0 win at the Pirelli Stadium last month.

Having been with Club Gimnastic Manresa, the 6ft 1in tall frontman moved on to Norwich City’s youth set-up and while at Carrow Road spent time on loan at Real Oviedo, playing for their B team.

He had a subsequent spell with Portsmouth during the first half of last season - netting onced in six starts and four sub appearances - before joining Burton on a permanent basis in January without having played a senior game for the Canaries.

Since moving to the Brewers he has scored eight times in 16 starts and six sub appearances. This season he has already netted five times and picked up two assists.

Town are aiming to sign two players before this evening's deadline with another striker having been their main target for much of the summer.

Leicester's George Hirst was chased for much of the close season but with the Foxes ultimately offering the former Sheffield Wednesday youngster a new contract and yesterday sent him out on loan to Blackburn.

With the Hirst deal looking unlikely to take place, Leicester were asking a fee significantly in excess of the £2 million widely reported, Town more recently turned their attention to alternative options as they looked to add to their squad before today’s deadline.

Sheffield United youngster Will Osula was believed to be among those on the list, but with other League One clubs, including Derby County, Burton Albion and Lincoln City, all thought to be interested.

TWTD understands former Blues striker Will Keane was also one of those of interest.

The 29-year-old, whose current terms are up next summer, has had a successful spell at Wigan since his release by Town in the summer of 2020 and we understand is set to stay at with the Latics and sign a new deal.

Photo: Matchday Images

Sefton_Blue added 09:18 - Sep 1 Sounds good to me, this was kept well under the radar!
10

brian_a_mul added 09:21 - Sep 1 He was strong and mobile against us. He is well equiped to succeed in L1 and is only 21. Burton play a very different style to us so he would need plenty of time to adapt. Would be a good signing!
11

BudapestByBlimp added 09:22 - Sep 1 Would be very happy with this, he was a real handful against us.
12

Bazza8564 added 09:22 - Sep 1 Decent goal per game ratio, we need another one, bring it on !!!
3

Texastom added 09:23 - Sep 1 This is what we have been waiting for.
6

Saxonblue74 added 09:24 - Sep 1 Good business. As usual, forget all the speculation and press rubbish, our business is kept under wraps until it is ACTUAL news!
14

Ravanelly added 09:27 - Sep 1 Excellent, my Dad and I both commented during the recent game that he was a handful
5

MickMillsTash added 09:27 - Sep 1 Thought he looked decent - Burton should have scored 3 that night not sure how many fell to him. is Haaland out of the question ? he looks like he could be a real find at this level
10

tractorboybig added 09:28 - Sep 1 everyone we are connected has everyone on here saying how good they are, Give it six months and they are moaning about the same. Never heard of him and as a burton sub ,is he going to set the world alight?
-9

Karlosfandangal added 09:30 - Sep 1 Funny all the rumours of who we are about to sign never seem to happen. Then all of a sudden a player pops up and we sign him within days. Is this our fabled 20 a season man !
-1

DashluvsITFC added 09:30 - Sep 1 Despite being an ex-budgie youth player, this is definitely the type of striker we need. Great age, height and pace and was a real handful in the recent win at Burton. Great that we are working quietly under the radar for once. If this signing comes off will be another one that ticks all the boxes for McKenna. Could also just be what Ladapo needs as well. COYBs.
8

Blueballs83 added 09:31 - Sep 1 Would be a great signing! One of the best we have come up against this season and perfect age to develop! This is exactly the sort of playing we should be signing. Will offer strong competition to Ladapo. Would also like to see another attacking number 9 too.
6

Gforce added 09:34 - Sep 1 A few astute people on here have recommended this guy recently ,obviously Mr Mckenna agrees 👍 Nice one Mr Ashton and team,he'll do for me.
4

jdtractor96 added 09:35 - Sep 1 I agree he was a real handful in the recent game v Burton. At 21 years old, and presumably a low-ish fee, this could be an excellent signing!
5

Len_Brennan added 09:37 - Sep 1 I think that this would be a good signing; from what I've seen (limited enough I know) he has a lot of the attributes that we are looking for to give us the focal point, & balance we need up front. He is young, so he has improvement in him & he will get the right coaching here, both for himself & for the team. I was unsure about the lad from Sheffield United u23s, but Ahadme is already an effective League 1 forward, so could be called upon straight away. I've been wanting an extra striker all summer; we have seen with the injuries to Chaplin & Aluko, how quickly a seemingly strong squad can be down to the bare bones in a particular position, if Ladapo was out for a couple of months we would struggle. This signing makes a lot of sense.

8

C_Jam_Blue added 09:37 - Sep 1 Good news I think. The article says we are looking at 2 signings today, I wonder what position the 2nd signing is, Midfield, Attacking midfield? Deadline day is certainly far more interesting these days.
2

DeliasMashedPotato added 09:41 - Sep 1 Just what we need. Another one to keep JJ and ladapo on their toes. One of them will surely do a job for us this season.
2

ArnieM added 10:04 - Sep 1 Excellent news 👍… and as usual kept well under the radar by the recruitment team. I can't honestly say I can remember in detail what he was like against us. But “welcome” to Town nonetheless.
4

DMDC added 10:04 - Sep 1 Tractorboybig:-You are correct. No one knows him, but suddenly he is the one. Give it a few months they will all be moaning.
-15

Jugsy added 10:27 - Sep 1 He really stood out in the Burton game, felt he should have done a bit better in a few situations and let us of the hook - I think our performance against Burton has been universally accepted as underwhelming. Under McKenna's tutelage this boy has every chance to shine. Notice how McKenna hasn't dipped into the Man Utd academy at all? When he came in I know many of us expected this. I guess it speaks volumes of his knowledge of the game, that he's unearthing talent from various sources. In McKenna we trust!

4

blueboy1981 added 10:27 - Sep 1 The time to ‘Count your Chickens' - is when they Hatch !! Until then you have no idea of their Colour either !! - especially where we are concerned !!
-2

SheffieldTractor added 10:33 - Sep 1 Awesome - I've been willing for this on this forum since the Burton game. He is perfect for the sole striker role. If he can add goalscoring to his excellent all round game it would be a bonus but his link up play and potential are enough to invest in! Chuffed!
6

jas0999 added 10:34 - Sep 1 This lad is a real handful. Would be a very good addition to the group.
3

SheffieldTractor added 10:40 - Sep 1 If the injuries to Chaplin and Aluko are bad I suspect the 2nd signing may have to be someone who can fit in as another 10 or fill in as a solo striker or be part of a front pair. Sam Smith at Cambridge has improved rapidly in the last 2 years, still young (24 I think) scoring freely now and seems to have a "poacher" intuition which we have lacked for some time. He carries the ball well, playing largely from the right and would add real options for us while still improving.

3

Len_Brennan added 10:40 - Sep 1 DMDC To be fair, nobody is saying that "he is the one", but I think most people on here recognise the type of player he is from what they have already seen & how he fits the profile of forward that the club has been searching for. Clearly Hirst was viewed as a superior option, but we lost out to a Championship club willing to accept a potential value in excess of £2.5m for him. Those are my thought anyway, and i kind of see him a bit like Newcastle saw Daryl Murphy when they signed him him from us for nearly £3m. They didn't see him as 'the one', but saw the qualities he had, at Championship level, which they were short of otherwise. He mainly came on as sub for them, when they needed a different approach, in that promotion season & scored some important goals. That absolutely justified signing him, but when they went up, they turned their attention elsewhere. We know that Ahadme can cause League 1 defences problems & can score goals at this level; what he is capable of beyond that is a question for another day, hopefully in May next year.

11

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls