Ipswich Town and England legend Terry Butcher says the Blues will have a player on their hands if Andre Dozzell can go anywhere close to emulating his father Jason.

The 17-year-old, who scored on his Football League debut at Sheffield Wednesday last month, aged 16, is already making waves in the game with his performances for Town and England’s youth teams attracting the attention of the Premier League’s big-guns.

Jason, himself, earned a big-money move from Ipswich to Tottenham in 1993, having also scored on his league debut as a 16-year-old, and Butcher hopes Andre, who has just penned his first professional contract at Town, can experience similar success, becoming a household name at Portman Road.

“His dad (Jason) used to be a good dancer in the First Floor club when that was open a few years ago, but I’ve not seen Andre on the dancefloor, so I’ll reserve judgement on that at the moment,” joked Butcher.

“Jason was a great character and if Andre has anything like his dad’s career, then wow, we have got a player.

“Andre has certainly caught the eye of a lot of people outside of the club, and in the club, and I just hope we can hold on to him and he does his best work for Ipswich Town Football Club. It’s great to see academy players coming through. With everything that is invested in the academy, it’s good that it does bear fruit every once in a while.”

Butcher, who was at Portman Road with fellow legend Russell Osman on Friday – the duo were managers of two teams that were playing in the Portman Cup – believes Town don’t necessarily need big money to be a success in the Championship next season.

“It’s a tough league the Championship and I have been watching the play-offs and the teams there are something we have got to try and emulate,” he said.

“There were teams in there that didn’t have the benefit of the parachute payments from the Premier League, so it can be done.”

“Hopefully we can get up there and stay up there and show everyone we want to be back in the big time.”

Osman, however, believes finances do play a significant part in the fortunes of the division’s promotion-chasers and explained: “That word money comes into it all the time and I just feel that the Championship is not a level playing field.

“It’s getting more and more lop-sided with the parachute payments that are coming in next year, so if you have not been promoted or had the benefit of a parachute payment, it makes it a lot more difficult than it could be.”