Ipswich Town working to sign Tammy Abraham as Aston Villa prepare for Ollie Watkins exit

Ipswich Town are working to complete a straight loan deal for Tammy Abraham as Gary O’Neil looks to add another striker following the club’s return to the Premier League.

Aston Villa have been willing to listen to offers for Abraham throughout the summer, with the striker outside Unai Emery’s plans.

The situation could now accelerate, with Ipswich pushing to close an agreement while Villa prepare for another significant change to their attack.

Ipswich are attempting to bring Abraham to Portman Road on a straight loan, which would add considerable Premier League experience to their attacking options.

Villa have been open to letting the striker leave throughout the transfer window. Abraham is not considered a key part of Emery’s plans, opening the door for Ipswich to make their move in the closing stages of the market.

For the newly-promoted side, the deal would represent another ambitious addition following an extremely active summer.

Ipswich have already added several attacking players, including Julio Enciso, Abdul Fatawu and Daizen Maeda, while Emersonn and Chuba Akpom provide options through the middle.

Abraham would give O’Neil another established No.9 as Ipswich attempt to build a squad capable of staying in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa are preparing to lose Ollie Watkins.

The England international is saying goodbye to teammates and staff today ahead of his expected move to Al Hilal.

Watkins' departure will represent a major change for Emery after the striker's importance to Villa over recent seasons.

Despite that impending exit, Abraham remains available, with Villa prepared to sanction his departure rather than reintegrate him into Emery's plans.

That has given Ipswich an opportunity to strengthen without committing to another sizeable permanent transfer fee.

Ipswich have already invested heavily following promotion.

Julio Enciso has arrived from Strasbourg for €30.5m, while Emersonn cost €28m from Toulouse and Abdul Fatawu joined from Leicester for €23.45m.

Abdoul Ouattara (€20m), Florentino (€18.7m), Saša Lukić (€10.5m), Issa Diop (€10m), Kjell Scherpen (€10m), Daizen Maeda (€9.4m) and Kayne van Oevelen (€4m) are among their other major additions.

Ipswich have also made the previous loan moves for Chuba Akpom and Cédric Kipré permanent, for €9.3m and €4.5m respectively.

Adding Abraham on loan would therefore continue an aggressive recruitment drive without requiring another major transfer fee.

Ipswich will now work to finalise the terms of Abraham's loan with Aston Villa and get the move completed before the transfer deadline.

Villa, meanwhile, are preparing to formalise Watkins' departure for Al Hilal. Despite losing Watkins, Emery's stance on Abraham appears unchanged, leaving Ipswich with a clear opportunity to bring the striker back into regular Premier League football.