MICHAEL Chopra and Connor Wickham would be a dream combination for Ipswich Town fans, and the ideal double act for manager Roy Keane to base a promotion bid on for next season.

However, for the moment the odds are still stacked against Cardiff City hot-shot Chopra arriving at Portman Road this summer.

Any fee involving Chopra would involve a bare minimum of �3m, which is the figure Town are reported to have made, but would probably rise if a price war was to develop involving other clubs.

And Keane, although a big fan of Chopra, has warned that player wages are a major factor in any summer deal. The 26-year-old’s big wages at Cardiff, where he is believed to earn up to �20,000 a week, would be beyond Town’s means.

Cardiff look set to have to sell some of their star players, after missing out on promotion to the Premier League – they lost last Saturday’s play-off final to Blackpool, with Chopra scoring the opener in the 3-2 defeat.

But they are not in the same desperate financial position of a few months ago, when they survived three separate winding-up orders because of money owed in taxes. New Malaysian investors will outline the rebuilding structure that is needed later this week.

Chopra, a potent force at Championship level, bagged 21 goals last term, and so there would be no shortage of interested parties if he was to leave the Cardiff City Stadium.

He is still under contract, and would be very unlikely to leave the Bluebirds for another Championship club, especially if it meant a cut in wages.

The biggest attraction that Town can offer is their manager himself. It was Keane who first recruited Chopra from Cardiff three years ago, for a �5m fee when the Irishman was the boss at Sunderland, and the two have a very good relationship.

That �5m figure might end up being the price that will have to be met to sign Chopra over the coming couple weeks.

Keane is in the market for a proven goalscorer, to play alongside new wonder kid Wickham.

Chopra/Wickham would be a dangerous pairing, and one to rival any other front-running duo in the Championship.

However, for the moment this match-up remains just a dream.