Man United have plans to try and sign Liam Delap from Ipswich Town this summer – and his £30m release clause is understandably tempting.
Manchester United hope to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich Town this summer.(Image: Gareth Copley/Getty Images.)
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna believes striker Liam Delap is “as good as what there is out there anywhere in the world” amid Manchester United’s interest in his signature.
McKenna revealed on Friday that the 22-year-old has held talks with interested clubs ahead of this summer’s transfer window and that it is looking likely that he will leave Portman Road this summer.
Delap, who joined Ipswich from Manchester City last summer, has a £30million release clause in his contract that will be activated this summer following the Tractor Boys’ relegation from the Premier League.
In his first full season as a Premier League player, the striker has exceeded expectations by scoring a respectable 12 goals in a team that has won just four league games all season.
United, who are desperate to add some firepower to their attacking options this summer, have been joined in the race to sign Delap by Chelsea and Newcastle United, highlighting the level of interest in his services.
And in the opinion of McKenna, the former City striker has the potential to reach the very top.
“He’s got great potential,” said McKenna, as quoted by the East Anglian Daily Times. “It’s clear for everyone to see, I think, what he’s done this season for a newly promoted team that’s found it really difficult.
“Not just in his goals, but in some of his performances where he’s been almost impossible for the opposition to handle. I’ve said many times, he’s still young. He still has room to grow, to be more consistent, to round off his game.
“But in terms of attributes, I think he’s as good as what there is out there anywhere in the world.”
Liam Delap has scored 12 goals in the Premier League this season.(Image: Michael Driver | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images.)
McKenna’s comments will undoubtedly excite United’s supporters, who are desperate to see the club draft in a new marksman this summer. Delap, however, remains a raw talent and is yet to establish himself as a consistent goalscorer, which is one of the improvements McKenna hopes he will be able to make.
However, his return this season, his running power and his willingness to shoot from both inside and outside the penalty area make him an attractive proposition for £30m.
Last year, United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe discussed the direction in which he wanted to take United’s recruitment in after years of reckless spending and paying inflated prices for players, and he admitted he relished the challenge of trying to unearth young talent and develop players who were not yet the finished article.
“What I would rather do is find the next [Kylian] Mbappe, rather than spend a fortune just trying to buy success,” Ratcliffe told the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast in March last year. “It’s not that clever, is it, buying Mbappe, in a way?
“Anybody could figure that one out. But what’s much more challenging is to to find the next Mbappe, the next [Jude] Bellingham or the next Roy Keane.”
Of course, Delap is not exactly an unknown quantity after plundering 12 Premier League goals in his first full season in the top flight, but neither is he the finished article.
He fits the criteria for the type of signing Ratcliffe has suggested United should be going in search of. At a juncture where established strikers cost big-money, £30m on Delap could be a calculated gamble worth taking.