Town striker Iván Azón says his main objective is to get the Blues promoted back to the Premier League and that he does not know what the future holds beyond the end of the season.

Azón joined the club last summer on a straight loan from Italian side Como, and has been competing for minutes as Town’s starting centre-forward with George Hirst and fellow loanee Chuba Akpom.

The Spaniard has enjoyed a more frequent starting role in recent weeks, having taken his goals tally to four for the season and becoming increasingly more attuned to English football’s style of play.

While it is clear that moving to a new country and culture can be daunting, Azón has settled in Suffolk and is doing all he can to get the Blues back into the top flight.

“I’ve always said that I’m really happy here,” he said. “I don’t really know what’s going to happen, I’m really focused on trying to achieve the objective but of course I’m happy here.

“Last year, I arrived in Como. It was the first time I went away from my home, it was a bit difficult and also a bit different to here.

“I’m settled and I’ve been really lucky with the club and the people with how they have welcomed me and helped me every day. It’s really nice to be here.

“Last year for me was a bit difficult. I arrived there with an injury and I didn’t have a chance last year. In pre-season, I had some chances and I think I did it well. Let’s see how it develops and hopefully we can achieve the objective here.

“Of course it’s difficult, but I’ve settled really well. The first weeks were a bit more difficult and a bit different, but that has also helped me to improve myself, not just in football but my personal life.

“Tactically, I’ve improved a lot and also playing with my back to goal. I understand my teammates better and they’ve also helped me to improve.”

While the primary job of a striker is to score goals, Kieran McKenna’s sides have often not had the most lethal output come from the centre-forward in previous promotion campaigns.

One of the biggest requirements is the ability to bring others into play and rough up opposition defenders, a role that Azón enjoys.

“Everyone values the striker just for the goals, but there’s also a lot of work that’s not just goals,” he said.

“I like to score every day, but the first thing I think is to try and help the team and try to battle against the other team.”

Comparing the Championship to playing for Real Zaragoza in the Spanish second tier, Azón continued: “Physically, it’s a bit tougher here and there’s a lot of running. In Spanish football, it’s a bit slower and tactically it’s about trying to be a block.

“I would say it’s a really good division comparing it to big first divisions in other countries. It’s an incredible division and it’s really near to the Premier League. I always say that it’s a mix of the Segunda División in Spain and the Premier League.

“I’ve always said with my agency and my family, English football and the style really suits me. I love this football so it’s really nice to be here.

“Since I was young, I always looked at the Premier League. The last years of the Premier League have been the best league in the world. Every football player wants to be in the best division in the world, and everything is really nice here.”

Town are not alien to having players from Spain, with both Iván Campo and fan favourite Pablo Couñago plying their trade at Portman Road during the 2000s.

While Azón admits to not having known much about the Blues prior to his arrival, the 23-year-old was aware of some of its history.

He said: “I didn’t know before coming here, but as I came here I tried to search something and I heard something about him.

“Honestly, I knew that last year they were promoted to the Premier League. I try to follow the Premier League so I watched some games against the big teams, but I didn’t know about the city, where it is or so on.”

Away from football, Azón takes education very seriously and is in the final stages of completing a rather complex university degree.

“I’m finishing industrial engineering,” he explained. “I’ve always thought that the most important thing is to go with my studies, so hopefully this year I can finish them. With my family and education, it’s always my studies first. I’m trying to do both.

“It’s quite tough because you don’t have too much time. Even when I was studying this year, coming abroad is a bit more difficult but I’ve tried to manage it.”

On his unique nickname of El Tiburón, meaning ‘The Shark’, he added: “It’s something that came from Zaragoza and some of my teammates. It’s not something that came from me or for something concrete. It’s probably just because of my style of play and I try to battle against everything. I also like it to be called that.

“I used to do gymnastics. I really liked it and it was really useful to me, my style of play and my body. I needed to choose between gymnastics and football, and football was my first thing.”

Photo: MI News via Reuters Connect