Zian Flemming walked into Ipswich Town this week sounding less like a deadline-day gamble and more like a man who has been waiting his whole career for this exact moment.
“Joy and excitement,” he called it. You could hear both.
The 28-year-old forward, signed from Burnley for £20m on deadline day, is in line to make his debut on Friday night as Liverpool visit Portman Road. It is a brutal reintroduction to the Premier League, and exactly the kind of stage he craves.
When the fixtures sank in, the reality hit him.
“When the move was getting closer and I really looked at the schedule and realised we were playing Liverpool on Friday I thought, ‘yeah, I'm really back in the Prem!’” he said on Thursday.
This is not a newcomer dazzled by the lights. Flemming has already lived the grind of the English top flight. Eleven league goals for Burnley last season underlined his quality, but they were not enough to keep the Clarets up. Personal breakthrough, collective heartbreak.
He has clearly spent the summer replaying that split-screen in his mind.
“Last season I managed to come out on top of the personal challenge to become a Premier League player but lost out on the team challenge and stay in the league,” he reflected. The words were measured, but the edge was obvious. There is unfinished business here.
Ipswich are banking on exactly that. A promoted side, a demanding division, a forward who has already proved he can score at this level and is still angry with how it ended. It is a potent mix.
For Flemming, the Premier League is not a destination. It is a test he wants to sit again.
“This move for me to go back to the Premier League - I'm happy with that,” he said. “That's what you want, to play against the best teams and best players. That's what gave me so much joy and excitement last year, to be able to measure yourself against the very best and have them push you to the next level. I can't wait to do that again and experience that again.”
He talks about challenges the way some players talk about medals. They are what drive him, what he returns to again and again.
“I just get a sensation of excitement for challenges. Whether it's a personal or a team challenge it brings something to life inside of me to take it on,” he explained.
The image he chose to describe his mindset will resonate with a fanbase about to start its own climb.
“I'd like to be at the bottom of the mountain and look up and wonder what it is like at the top. Then, get my head down and see how far I can get and see whether I can reach the top.”
On Friday night, the view above him will be Liverpool, the lights of the Premier League and a packed Portman Road. The mountain is steep. Flemming sounds ready to start climbing.
