Mick McCarthy’s pride will have been dented by Ipswich Town’s poor performance in the Sky Bet Championship this season, with his side finishing in a disappointing 16^th place.

Ipswich have faced many problems this season, but their performance in attack has been particularly worrying, with McCarthy’s side only scoring 48 goals in the Championship.

The club’s top scorer was Tom Lawrence, who was on a season-long loan from Leicester City and will be heading back to the King Power Stadium over the summer.

McCarthy must look to bring in another striker this summer, and should make a move for Newcastle United’s Daryl Murphy, who left Portman Road for £3m last summer.

Murphy’s opportunities have been limited at St James’ Park and he is set to leave the Magpies, ahead of their return to the Premier League.

Ipswich’s poor campaign could be put down to not finding a replacement for Murphy, who left Portman Road late during the summer transfer window.

Should the 34-year old return to Ipswich this summer, he could prove the difference between McCarthy’s side finding themselves in the bottom-half of the Championship or fighting at the right end of the table.

Murphy scored 50 goals over the course of three seasons during his time at Portman Road, including 27 during the 2014/15 campaign, as Ipswich qualified for the play-offs.

Although Murphy has just six Championship goals this season and is coming towards the end of his career, he would still be a very good signing for Ipswich, as they look to bounce back from a disappointing campaign.