Ipswich Town eyeing 26-year-old ex-Middlesbrough striker - 4 months after completing £22.5m transfer | OneFootball

Ipswich Town’s move for Emmanuel Latte Lath will raise a few eyebrows at the Riverside Stadium

Ipswich Town are reportedly eyeing a move for Atlanta United striker Emmanuel Latte Lath - less than 12 months after the Tractor Boys' transfer saga for the Ivorian when he was a Middlesbrough player.

That’s according to journalist Scott Wilson at The Northern Echo, who has revealed Latte Lath as one of Ipswich’s potential Liam Delap replacements.

Latte Lath only left fellow Championship side Middlesbrough in February this year, joining MLS side Atlanta United in a move that was lined up for most of the January transfer window.

Ipswich Town linked with Emmanuel Latte Lath just four months after Atlanta United transfer

The Tractor Boys are in search of a new striker with Chelsea reportedly activating the £30m release clause for Delap, fending off interest from Manchester United, Everton, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.

That sale, plus any others and the parachute payments Ipswich are set to receive this summer, leaves them with money to spend and a striker needed.

Nevertheless, few would have expected Latte Lath to be one of those linked, having only left division rivals Middlesbrough a matter of months ago.

Ipswich have a longstanding interest in Latte Lath, having tried to sign him multiple times before, including late on in the summer 2024 transfer window, but Boro have stopped their advances each time.

Emmanuel Latte Lath moving to Ipswich Town would surely raise Middlesbrough eyebrows

The £22.5m transfer of the Ivory Coast international in February to the MLS is already a controversial topic at the Riverside Stadium.

Latte Lath finished third in Middlesbrough’s top scorer charts, despite missed the latter part of the season due to his sale.

Michael Carrick’s side were just outside the play-off places when the striker left and ultimately faded towards the end of the season, no doubt impacted by the loss of such a crucial figure.

Tommy Conway picked up some of the slack, but Boro enter the window still looking to replace Latte Lath permanently, so it will frustrate many in Middlesbrough if Ipswich strengthen with the very man they are still looking to replace.

Latte Lath isn't exactly flying over in the USA either, netting just five times so far during his stay in Georgia from 16 MLS appearances.

Currently, the rapid striker is on a 10-match goalscoring drought for Ronny Delia's side, which surely must be a cause for concern from Ipswich's transfer team.

Middlesbrough may hold further transfer regret over Emmanuel Latte Lath

Seeing Latte Lath return to the Championship this soon would, by itself, be enough of a regret for Boro, one that will only intensify if he is part of a Tractor Boys outfit that beats Carrick’s side to promotion.

But the financial side may also hurt.

Yes, they received a club-record fee for Latte Lath, but they had to give 10 per cent of those profits directly to his former club, Italian side Atalanta.

Not only that, but there was no sell-on clause reported anywhere as part of Boro’s sale.

If there was no such clause in the move, Middlesbrough may feel they’ve left potential funds on the table if the striker moves again this summer. An extra boost to the transfer budget would certainly have soothed the frustration of seeing Latte Lath join a division rival.

Lee Hendrie exclusively told Football League World earlier this month that he feels Boro will live to regret their Latte Lath sale. That may already have been true when they missed out on the play-offs, but it certainly will be if they see him join a fellow promotion chaser so soon.