Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says Ipswich Town deserve ‘a huge amount of credit’ for competing with the recently-relegated Premier League big boys this season.
Town were only promoted from League One last campaign, yet now sit second in the Championship, behind only Leicester City.
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The Foxes were relegated from the Premier League last season, as were Southampton and Leeds United, who sit third and fourth behind Town respectively.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Maguire said all three relegated sides would have received parachute payments of £41m.
He stressed: “You’ve got to give Ipswich Town a huge amount of credit.
“I’ve looked at the numbers in respect of the three clubs that have just been relegated.
“Leicester City’s squad cost more than £400m when they published their most recent results, when they were in the Premier League.
“And Ipswich were promoted with a squad which cost less than £10m.
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“So you’re trying to mix those clubs together (in the Championship) and a lot of credit’s got to be given to the clubs that have just gone up.
“Plymouth Argyle, they’ve had a good season as well, they’re mid-table and with a couple more good results they could be on the edge of promotion.
“You’ve got to be a lot smarter with the money if you’ve just come up from League One, such are the huge gaps between the Premier League and the rest of football.”
Leicester, of course, sold the likes of stars James Maddison (Spurs, £40m) and Harvey Barnes (Newcastle, £38m) after relegation, while current star man Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is being linked with a mega money move to Premier League Brighton for £30m plus.
