Manchester United held talks with Liam Delap earlier this week as he prepares to leave Ipswich Town.
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has confirmed that he expects Liam Delap to leave the club this summer.
Delap has plundered 12 goals for the Tractor Boys as they were relegated from the Premier League. The striker has a £30 million relegation clause in his contract and has courted plenty of interest, with Everton manager David Moyes confirming he would be keen to sign Delap.
And McKenna believes that it will be a ‘positive sign’ for the Tractor Boys if Delap is sold despite wanting to keep hold of the talismanic centre-forward. Via the East Anglian Daily Times, Portman Road head coach McKenna said: "Liam's looking at his options for next year, which I think he's entitled to do, and we support him with that. So, yes, we've given him permission to do that this week. It's a very important decision for his future. Of course, there's a lot of interest and rightly so. So that's been part of his week, he's been having some of those conversations.
"It looks, I think more likely than not, that he'll move on this summer. He has interest from pretty much every club in the league. I don't think there's many clubs in the world who wouldn't want to have him. So I think it's more likely than not that he'll move on.
"Of course, nothing's sorted, nothing's done or completed or even I think very, very, very close. That process will take its course. We'll, of course, be proud of the part that we've had in terms of Liam's development and his contribution this season.
"If he stays with us, we'll be delighted. If he does move on this summer, then it will be a positive sign for the club, a positive step for the club, to have developed and sold a player at that sort of level. Hopefully it will be a good move for him."
‘As good as what there is out there’
Asked if he'll advise Delap on which club he should select, McKenna replied: "Yeah, though that had to stay private. I've spoken to Liam and he knows that I'll always try and help him anywhere possible. He has a fantastic relationship with the other staff here and other people around the club. He knows that we're here to support him and help him and guide him as we have done from the first day.
"He's got great potential. 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."
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