Conor Chaplin’s stats for Ipswich Town this season – Should Town be worried of PL interest in January?
Chaplin was Ipswich’s shining light in attack last season when promoted from League One
Conor Chaplin has been in exceptional form for Ipswich Town in the 2023-24 season, scoring four goals and providing three assists in just 10 matches.
Chaplin is exceeding expectations, with his actual goal tally matching his expected goals (xG) and outperforming his expected assists (xA).
While Chaplin’s performances may attract Premier League interest, it remains to be seen if he can replicate his success at Championship level in the top flight.
Ipswich Town’s promotion from League One last season was very much a team effort, but one man was grabbing all the headlines in the final few months of the campaign.
That man was Conor Chaplin, who seemed to be scoring in every match as the Tractor Boys marched their way to automatic promotion – despite not even winning the title as they conceded that to Plymouth Argyle.
In the 2022-23 season, Chaplin scored a mammoth 29 times in all competitions, with 26 of those coming in League One, and five assists were added to that tally as well.
And in Ipswich’s final nine matches of the third tier season, Chaplin found the back of the net 10 times in what ended up contributing to a lengthy unbeaten run for the Suffolk outfit.
The last time Chaplin was playing Championship football, which was for Barnsley in 2020-21, he scored just the four times and was part of a struggling Tykes side.
How is the 26-year-old stepping up to Championship football once more though? 10 games in to the 2023-24 campaign, let’s take a look at Chaplin’s stats in the early stages.
What are Conor Chaplin’s Ipswich Town stats for the 2023-24 season?
As a key part of Kieran McKenna’s attacking setup in the number 10 role, Chaplin is flourishing once more for the Tractor Boys.
It did not take long for Chaplin to get off the mark in the second tier for Town, scoring the only goal in their 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers back in August.
He backed that up with a strike in a 4-3 home defeat at Portman Road to Leeds United, and a third goal of the season came against Sheffield Wednesday last month.
Conor Chaplin with the pick of the goals last night for #ITFC and a tidy little celebration too â›³ï¸ Watch our @EFL highlights on ITV4 at 11pm tonight 📺 pic.twitter.com/ZtL9ytcYlT — ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 4, 2023
And in Ipswich’s 3-0 win this week against Hull City, Chaplin fired home his fourth goal of the season, with three assists also added to that in the first 10 matches of the season.
According to Sofascore, Chaplin has an expected goals (xG) of 4.02, which is bang on what he has actually achieved in-front of goal so far this season, whilst he is averaging 4.6 shots per game with 1.2 of those being on target every match.
He has only missed two big chances so far this season, and with an expected assists (xA) tally of 0.5, he is outperforming the stats when it comes to creating goals for team-mates.
Should Ipswich Town be worried of Premier League interest in Conor Chaplin?
Chaplin is now 26 years of age, which means the next few years should be the theoretical peak of his career.
Having already scored 29 times in the 2022-23 season though, it’s going to be hard for Chaplin to replicate that at Championship level, but he’s in a system where most attackers seem to thrive.
Would Chaplin be able to step up to the Premier League though? It’s a tough one to say for sure.
Some players can find the Championship very easy but when they step up to the top flight, they cannot make the grade for whatever reason and end up back at a more comfortable level.
Should Chaplin show incredible form leading up to the January transfer window, then lower-end Premier League clubs will likely have a look into signing him, but Ipswich will demand a big price and it’s likely a figure that top flight outfits won’t pay.
