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Kieran McKenna gives Chelsea green light for Liam Delap transfer as major update emerges

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has revealed Liam Delap has held talks with several interested clubs this week as the forward weighs up his next move.

The 22-year-old will be free to leave Portman Road for just £30m this summer after the Tractor Boys were relegated to the Championship.

The England youth international, who has scored 12 goals in the top-flight for Ipswich, has been linked with moves to Chelsea and Manchester United, as well as Newcastle United and Everton.

However, McKenna has revealed that the Portman Road outfit have allowed Delap to speak to interested parties before the end of the season as he prepares to leave the club.

Speaking in his press conference ahead of Sunday's final game of the season against West Ham, McKenna said: "He's looking at his options for next year. We support him with that.

"There's a lot of interest and rightly so. It's looking more likely he goes rather than stays."

If Chelsea are able to beat Nottingham Forest by a bigger margin than Aston Villa beat Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, the Blues will have Champions League football to offer Delap. Manchester United and Everton, meanwhile, will have no European football to offer the forward.

However, that didn't stop Jamie Carragher from urging Delap to sign for Everton earlier this week, insisting that the pressure of a club like Manchester United could be damaging for a player still developing.

"I don’t think he should go to Man United," said the former Liverpool defender on Monday Night Football. "I just think what happened to [Rasmus] Hojlund. You’re going from a team who were relegated to – and I know Man United are 16th – but it’s Man United, one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"The eyes and ears of the world are on you. I just think that is such a big step. You might say it’s from there to there in terms of league position, but Man United is a monster.

"I do. I just think that the next step of… [At] Everton, you're going to play every week, feel like the main man, one of the best players in the team.

"He's one of the best players in the team at Ipswich and everything goes through him. Go to another club where you are that for two years, then go to that Man United sort of team, sort of Champions League or competing for that sort of level."

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