Manchester United Head Coach Ruben Amorim
Manchester United will miss out on more than just playing Champions League football
Manchester United's Europa League final defeat looks set to have huge implications across the Premier League and Europe. The Red Devils crashed to a 1-0 loss in Spain on Wednesday night against rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Brennan Johnson's only goal was enough to give Spurs the trophy in a disappointing game that showed why the 16th and 17th best clubs in England this season have had such a torrid time.
Spurs rescued their campaign, however, and will play in the Champions League next season. For Man Utd, however, it is a very different story.
Their defeat in Bilbao has plunged the Old Trafford club into a crisis with reports that every single squad member is effectively now for sale with no European prize money coming into the crumbling top-flight side. This will be the first time since 2015 that Man United have not qualified for any type of European competition and there is talk that the former Premier League champions can't afford to splash out this summer.
That could hand Newcastle United a major advantage in the chase for Liam Delap. The Ipswich Town striker has a £30million release clause and has the pick of clubs this summer after relegation made that active. Delap is set to leave Portman Road this summer and has courted interest from Newcastle, Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
As reported by Chronicle Live yesterday, one of Delap's conditions on deciding a potential new club is playing Champions League football. However, Man United - who were understood to be frontrunners to sign the young forward and Wolves attacker Matheus Cunha - not only blew their chance of a backdoor entry into the competition last night in Bilbao, they also may have ended hopes of signing Delap.
Newcastle are yet to book their own place in the Champions League but it could yet be a factor. Spurs' 1-0 victory over the Red Devils mean they are in with a chance of signing Delap and a host of other stars this summer.
Delap is eyeing £120,000 to £150,000 per week which would put him up there as one of Newcastle's top earners. The conclusion of the season will soon see transfer activity ramped up in the Premier League with the window swinging open on June 1.
Newcastle are hoping to hold face to face talks with Delap in the next week. There had been reports that the former Man City man favoured a return to the North West which made an Old Trafford switch the favourite, but the door is now opened wider for the Magpies.