"Not Premier League quality" - Ipswich Town and Southampton sent Kwame Poku warning | OneFootball

FLW's Peterborough fan pundit believes Poku is not yet ready the jump up to the top-flight

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Premier League interest in Peterborough United winger Kwame Poku has been played down amid reports linking Ipswich Town and Southampton with a move for the 22-year-old ahead of the January window.

Posh star Poku is one of the most in-form players in English football right now, and sits atop of the League One scoring charts with 10 goals and five assists in 15 matches, while he has picked up the third tier's Player of the Month award for both September and October as a result of his standout showings.

He has been linked with a move to numerous higher-placed teams recently, such as Rangers, Blackburn Rovers and Burnley as a result of his great performances, and is bound to be a top target for multiple clubs heading into January, with the Premier League Tractor Boys and Saints now both also reportedly keeping an eye out.

Premier League move deemed a step too far for Kwame Poku at this stage

Poku has been in scintillating form, and TBR Football have claimed that both Ipswich and Southampton are keeping tabs on his availability, along with numerous other clubs, but it is unclear whether either side would be open to a move for the 22-year-old in January.

Posh are currently trying to tie him down to a new contract in PE2, as he is in the final year of his deal, so they may well be open to a sale in the new year to fetch a decent fee for his services, rather than likely minimal compensation next summer.

Both Premier League sides boast former Peterborough men among their ranks too, with Ronnie Edwards at Southampton, and Sammie Szmodics at Ipswich, but Poku's potential ability at the level has been questioned by FLW's Posh fan pundit, Alex Batt, after we asked him whether he thinks he is good enough to join either side and play in the top-flight.

“In terms of Kwame Poku, is he good enough to join Ipswich or Southampton? I would probably have to say no, I don’t think he is,” Alex told FLW.

“If they’re thinking about next season potentially being in the Championship, then yeah, by all means I think he is good enough.

“He’s not good enough for the Premier League, so if they are thinking of strengthening to stay in the Premier League, Poku isn’t the guy that I would go for.

“I think he is a very good player at League One level, proving it this season. It’s easily his best season with us so far.

“Maybe that’s because there is no Ephron Mason-Clark anymore, and he has had to step up and really deliver. That’s what he’s done.

“He’s not a Premier League quality footballer. Is he Championship level? I’d say so, but Mason-Clark was better than Poku, and he has struggled at Coventry, you’d say.

“It’s not a guaranteed successful signing.

“It all depends on what Ipswich and Southampton are thinking. If they are thinking, ‘realistically we’re going down, let's get ready for the Championship,’ then he is a good squad player to have.

“If their intentions are to stay in the Premier League, then I don’t think they should be targeting Poku.”

Poku should keep Mason-Clark in mind before he makes transfer decision

It can be easy to overestimate a player's talents when they are clearly too good for a certain level, and it would certainly be a huge jump up in opposition quality if Poku was to go straight to the Premier League from League One anytime soon.

He is undoubtedly a standout in the third-tier, as highlighted by his "unplayable" exploits against rivals Cambridge United last time out, but so was former Posh teammate Ephron Mason-Clark, and he has not found his feet in the Championship yet since his permanent summer move to Coventry City.

Mason-Clark, who played on the opposite wing to Poku at the Weston Homes Stadium, registered nine goals and eight assists in 39 league games in 2022/23, and then bettered that last season with 14 goals and seven assists in 43 third-tier games, as he made a January switch to the CBS Arena, but was loaned back to Peterborough for the second half of the season.

Despite obviously being above League One standard, the 25-year-old has struggled to adapt to life in the second-tier, not even the top-flight, with one assist in 12 league appearances, and just four starts to his name so far this term.

Other previous high-profile Posh exports, like Szmodics and Ivan Toney, both had to prove themselves in the Championship with Blackburn and Brentford respectively, so Poku must keep these players in mind when he makes his next move, and whether the Premier League is too big of a step-up at such an early stage in his career.