Like Lampard, Ipswich Town manager Gary O’Neil has plenty of Premier League experience under his belt.
And after the shock resignation of Kieran McKenna earlier this summer, O’Neil has acted quickly to get his team in the best shape possible.
Town have spent £150m this summer – the highest outlay of the three promoted clubs – on 12 major signings.
“Two seasons ago, the club didn’t get anywhere near staying in the division and this time we need to do better,” O’Neil said last month.
He had added experience with Premier League duo Sasa Lukic and Issa Diop from Fulham, and brought in Julio Enciso and Abdoul Ouattara from French club Strasbourg, who he managed before Ipswich.
BBC Radio Suffolk reporter Graeme McLoughlin said it was “glaringly obvious” Town needed a goalscorer for the new campaign and Emersonn has since arrived from Toulouse for a fee believed to be £24m plus add-ons.
He is up and running after scoring against Rayo Vallecano in pre-season and impressing with his high-press style and physicality.
In the summer of 2024, Town also brought in 12 signings, but this time they have cast their net far wider than the English leagues, with Emersonn the first Brazilian to join the club, Lukic the first Serb and Daizen Maeda the first Japanese player.
Spending big is no guarantee of survival, but quality and experience comes at a price as Ipswich and Coventry have demonstrated this summer.
Sunderland spent a record £161m last summer, with 15 players arriving in what was a complete squad overhaul by head coach Regis le Bris.
Nick Barnes, who commentates on Sunderland for BBC Radio Newcastle, said: “They were able to identify players largely unknown from Europe and South America and buy on average for around 20m euros, gambling on their due diligence to identify players they believed would only increase in value.”
Brian Brobbey, Noah Sadiki and Robin Roefs are prime examples of that strategy after impressing last season.
Ipswich have brought in the most players of the three promoted teams to date, averaging £12.5m per signing, and are closing in on Sunderland‘s record spend.
