Ipswich Town: Everything you need to know about Kieffer Moore

Moore came off the bench to score against Crystal Palace back in December (Image: PA)

A man of many clubs

Born in Torquay, Moore started his career with his local club until they were forced to fold their youth programme, switching to Conference South club Truro City.

Alongside his semi-professional playing career, he worked as a lifeguard, waking up at 5am, working a full day and travelling two hours each way to train with his club. He also had a jobs at a restaurant and a sweet shop.

He scored 13 goals in just 22 games before earning moves to Dorchester Town and Yeovil Town in 2013, briefly playing Championship football with the latter.

He failed to hit form with the Glovers and subsequently opted to move abroad, ending up at Norwegian Eliteserien side Viking FK in 2015. He managed just nine games before returning to the South West of England, joining Forest Green Rovers.

Once again, he just couldn’t find a permanent home. A loan spell back at Torquay preceded a stint at Ipswich (we’ll get to that) and another loan at Rotherham United. He chose to stay in Yorkshire and sign for Barnsley in 2018, scoring 21 goals in 51 League One games.

There was a clear upwards trajectory, and following an impressive run at Wigan Athletic in the second tier, he made the jump to Cardiff City, where he had the best season of his career so far, bagging 20 goals in 42 games.

When Bournemouth came calling in January 2022, it was an impossible offer to turn down. A reported £5 million fee was paid, and he made up for it by contributing to their promotion. He made his Premier League debut later that year, completing his run from non-league to the top flight.

He’s worked incredibly hard to make it at the top level, even if he hasn't played loads of minutes. He certainly won't forget his brace against Tottenham Hotspur in 2022, even if his side went on to lose the match 3-2.

Moore failed to score during his previous spell at Ipswich (Image: Pagepix)

His last spell at Town

Do you remember much about Moore’s last spell at Portman Road? It wasn’t overly eventful.

The Blues were initially working on a deal to sign Oli Hawkins from Dagenham & Redbridge in 2017, but as soon as Moore became available, Mick McCarthy moved to sign him for a fee of £10,000.

Moore backed himself to make the step-up to the Championship, having had a taste of the league during his time at Yeovil.

“I believe I am a much better player than I was when I was last in the Championship,” he said after initially signing for Ipswich. “Just because you’ve gone down to a certain level it doesn’t mean you’re that standard. If you’ve got the hunger and the attitude there is no reason you can’t make it.”

He was never given much of a chance, sitting behind David McGoldrick, Brett Pitman and Freddie Sears in the pecking order. He made just 11 substitute appearances in the second half of the 2016/17 campaign, totalling 147 minutes including stoppage time. Ipswich finished 16th.

The aforementioned loan to Rotherham came the following season, scoring 13 goals in 22 League One games. Numerous third-tier clubs were interested in taking him on, and Barnsley coughed up £750,000 to do so at the end of the season.

Manager Mick McCarthy was quick to point out his relationship with the fans shortly before his departure, saying: “He was hardly well-liked or loved - I remember the crowd cheering when he headed a ball at one stage when he was here.

“But he’s gone and improved and had a great time at Rotherham where he’s much more loved and revered, that’s for sure.

“I could tell yesterday when he trained that, with so much interest in him, his head was elsewhere and he will probably end up elsewhere.”

Moore, on the other hand, was keen to show everyone that Town were wrong for letting him go, saying: “You have to take the positives out of everything but there’s nothing better than showing someone they were wrong about you and showing them you can do it if you work hard enough.”

In hindsight, he probably did that. Now he’s back at Ipswich with a point to prove.

The striker could play with Nathan Broadhead and Wes Burns at EURO 2024 (Image: PA)

International expert

Moore made one appearance for England C, an international team specifically made for non-league players, during his time at Forest Green. At that point, he didn’t know that he’d have a part to play on a much bigger scale.

Although he was eligible to play for Italy, it was China who came closest to convincing him. Moore’s maternal great-grandfather was from Gungdong, but he moved to Liverpool in the 1940s. Great-grandparents aren’t considered to be a completely valid international qualification, however, and despite having talks in Beijing in 2019, nothing materialised.

As a result, he opted to represent Wales, receiving a call-up to their training camp in May 2019 before making his debut against Belarus just four months later. He scored his first goal on his second appearance for the Dragons, drawing 1-1 with Slovakia in October that year.

He now has 39 caps and 12 goals to his name, having played at EURO 2020 and the 2022 World Cup as Rob Page’s first-choice striker. Alongside new Town teammates Wes Burns and Nathan Broadhead, he’ll be hoping to reach EURO 2024 this summer, although they’ll have to win their qualifying bracket.

The 31-year-old almost joined Millwall last summer (Image: PA)

Chaotic transfer windows

Moore is no stranger to deadline day chaos. His move to Bournemouth materialised on the final day of the transfer window two seasons ago, and the late stress didn’t stop there.

He was close to joining Millwall on deadline day last summer, but the move collapsed right at the death. Gary Rowett said that the Lions did all they could to get it over the line but ‘it didn’t quite work out’.

It meant that January was always going to be busy, and so it proved. Ipswich were in the race to sign him from the start of the month, as were Sunderland and Cardiff. Leeds United were rumoured to be interested in him, but the same could be said for most of the Championship.

With that, Bournemouth were reluctant to let him leave while Antoine Semenyo was at AFCON. He was getting minutes in the Premier League and there seemed to be a distinct chance that he could remain in Dorset for the rest of the season.

But once again, it was deadline day drama that saw the move play out. Even then, it hinged on the Cherries bagging former Manchester City striker Enes Unal from Getafe to bolster their forward options. It must’ve been a stressful day for both Moore and Ipswich.

Moore's biggest strength is his aerial presence (Image: PA)

What Town are getting

We all know what Moore is about. He’s 6’5, physical and aerially dominant. If you play to his strengths, he can be one of the top strikers at Championship level.

"For my size, people don't think I can do what I can, but I'm a good mover," he explained. "I can run with the ball, I can run the channels and cause a nuisance."

He’ll add a lot in both penalty areas, particularly during corners and free-kicks. The likes of George Edmundson, Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess are the usual threats in those situations, while Conor Chaplin is also prolific in the box, but Moore will be yet another presence that opponents have to deal with. That’s easier said than done. Leif Davis will be licking his lips at the prospect of getting a few more assists from his pinpoint crosses.

It’s important to recognise that he isn’t George Hirst, however. He isn’t as athletic and agile, and while he can win knockdowns and hold the ball up, his biggest strengths are totally different to those of the former Leicester City forward. He's more of a target man.

He arrives with a real pedigree, boasting more experience than other targets like Jay Stansfield and Sam Gallagher. Not only does he know how to find the back of the net in this league, but he also knows how to win automatic promotion from it as well, having done so with Bournemouth.

Ipswich may have to adapt the way they attack, but there’s no reason why they can’t get the best out of Moore in the same way that Cardiff did when he scored 20 goals for them in 2020/21. He's played with much of the Town squad already, either at different clubs or an international level, so his new teammates will know how to do that.