Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton has been speaking about the future of striker Liam Delap, who is of interest to Chelsea going into the summer.
The Blues are big admirers of the 22-year-old forward, who has shone in the Premier League this season despite the Tractor Boys fighting for their lives to remain in the division. In 28 appearances in the league, Delap has scored 10 goals and provided two assists - proving to be the talisman for Ipswich. And that, predictably, has put Delap in the spotlight ahead of the summer.
Ipswich signed Delap last summer for around £20million from Manchester City, with the striker penning a five-year contract at Portman Road. There is speculation, however, that City inserted a buyback clause in the Englishman's contract and after an impressive debut season in the Premier League, the striker is now being linked with a return to the Etihad Stadium.
Ashton, understandably, did not get into the intricate details of Delap's contract but he somewhat reassured Ipswich fans about the possibility of losing their star striker. The Tractor Boys chairman said the club are "well protected" for any outcome regarding the former City forward.
"What I would say is that what's been reported is never quite fact," Ashton said to the East Anglian Daily Times. "It would be remiss of me to speak about any individual player, you know I am going to say that. What I can say is that in January there was interest in a number of our players from a number of Premier League clubs. But ownership were great, it was 'you don't have to sell'.
"So look, we're not an easy club to buy from, because we have such strong ownership. Obviously there is always a natural point in time when a player has to move. That's the cycle of life, it's the cycle of football. But we are very, very, very well protected with all of that."
When asked whether he could confirm the buyback clause from City, Ashton said: "No. Look, it would be remiss of me to do that. I would actually be in breach of contract for talking in any kind of detail.
"All I would say to the fans is that hopefully an element of trust has been built with us since we took over. We know what we're doing and we're well, well protected."
Chelsea are looking to sign a new No.9 this summer to try and ease the burden on Nicolas Jackson for the 2025/26 season. Delap is one of the names that have been mentioned to football.london, with the likes of Victor Osimhen, Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres all on the club's shortlist.
The Blues tried to sign Osimhen last summer from Napoli, but despite coming close, a deal was not completed in the end and the Nigeria international ended up moving to Galatasaray on loan instead. However, Chelsea's retain an interest in Osimhen, who has shone in Turkey this term.