Newcastle United transfer target Liam Delap is a man in demand this summer.
Despite a bleak season for Ipswich Town as a whole, Delap has enjoyed a fine campaign himself.
The striker has scored 12 Premier League goals for a team relegated weeks ago and Newcastle United have taken note.
Newcastle think Delap and Alexander Isak could form a strike partnership, which is a seriously exciting prospect for supporters.
The fact Delap has a release clause of £30million also makes him appealing. That is not a huge amount of money to pay for a young player capable of scoring goals at elite level.
Newcastle are due to hold talks with Delap’s agents and Tractor Boys manager Kieran McKenna has just made a major admission.
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Ipswich confirm Liam Delap green light after Newcastle United transfer talks
Speaking at his final pre-match press conference of the season, McKenna admitted the club had given permission for Delap and his agents to talk to interested parties.
He claims that it looks likely the England U21 international will look to leave Portman Road this summer, rather than sticking with them in the Championship.
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It’s now been confirmed Delap spent part of this week talking to interested parties, with both Chelsea and Manchester United also previously credited with an interest.
Stat Liam Delap Alexander Isak Callum Wilson William Osula
Goals 12 23 0 1
Assists 2 6 0 1
Shots/90 1.9 2.9 0.4 0.2
Key passes/90 0.6 1.3 0.2 0.1
Aerial duels won/90 1.6 0.8 0.1 0.4
Liam Delap’s stats compared to Newcastle United’s strikers, data via WhScored
The Suffolk club signed the striker from Manchester City last summer and stand to make a huge profit on him.
“Liam’s looking at his options for next year, which I think he’s entitled to do, and we support him with that,” he said (via The Ipswich Star).
“So, yes, we’ve given him the 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.”
Manchester United have just suffered a major blow in Liam Delap transfer chase
Manchester United also want to sign Delap but may struggle to do so now.
Indeed, Delap wants Champions League football at his next club and Ruben Amorim’s side won’t be able to offer him that after losing the Europa League final on Wednesday night.
Chelsea could suffer a similar fate this weekend if they do not beat Nottingham Forest on the final day of the Premier League season. There’s a very real chance the Blues could drop into the Europa League, although perhaps the same could be said of Newcastle.
Eddie Howe’s side need to beat Everton on Sunday to ensure they qualify.