Ipswich Town boss Paul Lambert has offered his thoughts on the club's current shortage of strikers, with top scorers James Norwood and Kayden Jackson both set to be out of action over the next few weeks for the promotion chasing Tractor Boys. 

With their two main marksmen set to miss out for various reasons, Lambert only currently has the services of Will Keane and Freddie Sears to call on, with both players having largely struggled for both fitness and form this term.

This may well lead to Lambert's hand being forced and as a result we could well see a free agent arrive at Portman Road in the not too distant future to deal with the team's current selection headache.

QUIZ: Can you identify these 15 Ipswich Town players purely based on their date of birth and birthplace? See if you can get full marks down below!

However, the former Norwich City boss has seemingly portrayed a cautious approach with regards to bringing in another striker, with the ex-Borussia Dortmund player stating the following to the East Anglian Daily Times:

"We're definitely short in that area but if you don't have a contract by March then there's something wrong with you. 

"It's a dangerous thing to go into that market and we can't keep paying money out. That's my frustration with loans and free transfers because they're not fit."

Norwood is set to be sidelined for up to a month with a groin injury, whilst Jackson is set to serve a three game ban after being sent off against Oxford United in his side's recent defeat.

The Verdict 

Given that there are unlikely to be any players available of the standard required by Ipswich, it would indeed appear to be a risky move to make for the Tractor Boys as they look to make up ground on their fellow promotion contenders.

Lambert should ideally place his faith on the shoulders of Messrs Sears and Keane, with the fact that the duo have something of a point to prove at Portman Road potentially offering extra motivation for them to attempt to nail down a starting spot.

There was always going to be a point where they could no longer rely solely on the goalscoring exploits of Jackson and Norwood and now it is up to the club's fringe players to step up and prove their worth over the next month or so.