The reaction from Manchester United’s chiefs after they found out about the rejection from Liam Delap earlier this summer has been revealed.
Manchester United entered the summer transfer window with a clear plan to bolster their underperforming forward line.
Matheus Cunha was signed on the opening day of the window and Liam Delap was the preferred choice as striker, partly due to an attractive £30 million release clause.
However, the Ipswich Town striker rejected the approach from the Reds and instead opted to join Chelsea this summer. He has already played twice for them at the Club World Cup now.
United have moved on and started targeting Bryan Mbeumo, and they remain locked in negotiations with Brentford over a potential deal for the player.
How United chiefs reacted to Delap rejection
United’s striker for next season remains unknown for next season, with not many other top options on the market being at the same value as Delap was.
Delap’s decision to reject United and join Chelsea was made public while the Reds were on their post-season tour of Asia. On one hand, it was good to get the news so early.
According to the Manchester Evening News, the Reds wanted to ‘come out of the blocks’ in the transfer window, with the idea to have Cunha and Delap through the door early on.
However, that report also stated that club staff were relaxed in Hong Kong minutes after the news broke that Delap would be joining Chelsea.
It was claimed that they stressed the fact that United had contingency targets if a move for the England youth international fell through.
Berrada’s transfer point proven
Those reports support the recent claims United’s chief executive, Omar Berrada, made during the club’s post-season tour, shortly before Delap’s decision was made.
When asked about the transfer market, Berrada explained that the club had been planning for a long time and are prepared for all different kinds of scenarios.
“I can’t talk about specifics but I can say we have been planning for many months now,” said Berrada at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Malaysia.
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“We were ready for all the different scenarios and now know what we need to do. We have a very clear idea where we need to invest in the squad to improve.”
Some fans would argue that it is better for the club to sign Mbeumo over Delap, but there is still a desperate need for the no.9 at Old Trafford and it remains to be seen who that signing will be.
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