Ipswich Town Rival Sporting CP For Panathinaikos Striker

On Sunday, we covered claims from Portugal which explained Ipswich Town have been making efforts to beat Sporting CP to Fotis Ioannidis.

The Lisbon club have been targeting Panathinaikos’ striker for months, as they look to insulate themselves against a potential Viktor Gyokeres exit this summer.

That’s not to say the former Coventry City player is absolutely for sale, but just to make sure Sporting aren’t decimated if a club decide to pay around €100m for him.

Sporting weren’t really facing any serious completion until Ipswich Town turned up. Initially the Blues offered €22.5m, and that was rejected because a lot was made up of complicated bonuses, was seen positively.

Monday’s edition of A Bola reports the Liga Portugal side have already offered €18m as a straight fee, and believed that €20m may do the trick. However, the new Premier League club arriving appears to have shaken Panathinaikos’s ambitions when it comes to a transfer fee.

Now there’s a fear Ioannidis will cost more than the €22.5m Ipswich offered, but as a straight fee.

The 24-year-old is said to be keen on a move to Sporting and has already agreed a five year contract with them. He probably feels he can grow in a similar way to Gyokeres.

Meanwhile, if Ipswich Town want to try again then they need to drop some of those bonuses. It would be no surprise if one relates to Premier League survival, and Panathinaikos would be concerned by that.