Adam Pope says 23-year-old could now miss Leeds’ trip to Ipswich Town through injury

Ian Poveda is expected to miss Leeds United’s trip to Ipswich Town next weekend.

That is according to BBC Sport reporter Adam Pope, who says Poveda was absent for Leeds’ draw with West Bromwich Albion due to an adductor strain.

As such, Poveda is set to be out for the next 10 days which would rule him out of Leeds’ next Championship fixture at high-flying Ipswich Town.

Poveda had been enjoying some sort of a renaissance at Leeds until his injury, forcing his way into Daniel Farke’s plans thanks to an excellent pre-season.

An impressive cameo off the bench in the opening day draw with Cardiff City then saw him rewarded with starts against Shrewsbury Town and Birmingham City.

The injury has come at arguably the worst possible time for Poveda with Leeds’ squad likely to be in a much stronger place when he returns.

Crysencio Summerville is expected to be fit at around the same time, while clarity will likely have arrived on the futures of wantaway duo Luis Sinisterra and Wilfried Gnonto.

Leeds are also set for an extremely busy end to the window with Farke keen to strengthen in all outfield positions.

Due to both Poveda and Leo Hjelde’s injury, Farke was able to name just seven substitutes against West Bromwich Albion, two of which were goalkeepers.

Poveda will be hoping he still remains a firm part of Farke’s plans when he does return later this month.

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The Saints got their 2023/24 Championship season underway on Friday night as they claimed all three points in a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

One of the goalscorers on the night was Armstrong, and it now appears the forward is the subject of transfer interest from a Championship rival.

It was first reported by Alan Nixon in April, that Ipswich had an eye on Southampton’s Armstrong, after having a troubled season in the Premier League.

However, it went quiet as Ipswich looked to prioritise other positions and players this summer. But, with a few weeks left of this transfer window, it seems the Tractor Boys remain keen on the forward.

Alan Nixon has now provided an update stating that Ipswich are willing to spend £8 million to secure the services of the 26-year-old.

If the deal were to go through, it would represent a club-record transfer fee spent by Ipswich, but it looks as though their pursuit may not get off the ground.

According to Nixon, Russell Martin is planning to keep Armstrong and use him heavily as part of Southampton’s promotion push. Plus, Che Adams has been linked with a move back to the Premier League, meaning the Saints are likely not going to want to lose two strikers in this transfer window.

Despite this, Ipswich may still look to test the resolve of Southampton with an £8 million bid, but it is a fee that is considerably less than what Southampton paid Blackburn Rovers two years ago.

Carlton Palmer has shared his thoughts on Ipswich being interested in a deal for Armstrong and if he thinks the £8 million fee mentioned is a fair price.

He told FLW: “Ipswich are keen on signing Adam Armstrong from Southampton. Armstrong has scored 44 goals in two previous campaigns for Blackburn in the Championship.

“Southampton are not keen to sell and therefore, are asking for £8 million plus. He scored in the opening-day win for Southampton at Sheffield Wednesday, and I think it’s a very fair price in today’s market. He is guaranteed 20 goals a season if he stays fit, so I would be very surprised if Southampton would allow him to leave, but I can only assume that if they did let him leave it would be down to his salary now, they’re in the Championship.”