THE arrival of Michael Chopra could finally end Ipswich Town’s long pursuit for a 20-goal marksman.

A fox in the box – or, to quote Paul Jewell, someone who would “kick his granny” to score – has been missing from the Blues’ largely blunt attack since Darren Bent departed in 2005.

You have to go back even longer than that to find the last man at Town to score 20 goals in a season – Marcus Stewart in the momentous 2000/01 season.

Bent, Shefki Kuqi, Pablo Counago and even Alan Lee have come close to shooting through that particular barrier, but the stark truth is that only five times in the last decade has an Ipswich player scored more than 15 goals in a campaign.

But the wait could finally be over. Chopra’s record speaks for itself as Cardiff fans will testify.

While he was dogged by injury problems last season, he still netted 11 goals in 27 starts. This was the same as Town top scorer David Norris and more than current strikers Jason Scotland, Connor Wickham and Tamas Priskin who all featured in more games than their new team mate.

There are no guarantees but Chopra’s arrival is not only an exciting start to a busy summer of transfers, it offers Town fans real hope for next season.