Manchester United have suffered a big blow to their plans to sign a new striker in Liam Delap this summer, with Chelsea reportedly his preferred destination. The Ipswich Town talisman has scored 12 goals for his side in the 2024/25 season and has commanded great interest from many clubs.
Liam Delap Prefers Chelsea Over Manchester United
Interest From Various Premier League Clubs
David Ornstein has reported that Delap’s various suitors have been informed that he will not be joining them. Reportedly, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Everton, and Nottingham Forest were all interested in the 22-year-old. Clubs outside of England have also been told, including AC Milan and Juventus.
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Delap prefers Chelsea as his summer transfer, and will likely end up there if his personal terms and release clause requirements are met. This is yet another example of the Blues picking up young talent, and with a £30 million buy-out clause it is surely a no-brainer.
Fabrizio Romano has now confirmed this with his “Here We Go”, stating that Ipswich have authorised medical tests and that Delap will sign his contract in the next 24 hours.
Do Manchester United Need Liam Delap?
Whilst Delap is an exciting talent, described as “exceptional”, it could be debated whether United actually need a new striker, and whether losing out on him will really be a big blow.
United already have two relatively young strikers in Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund. Zirkzee is 24-years-old and Hojlund is 22, and the Red Devils have spent over £100 million combined on the duo in the last two years. Whilst neither have had a particularly prominent impact on the team yet, with just seven goals between them in the Premier League this season, it would surely make sense to try and get the most out of their current strikers, both of whom do still have very high ceilings.
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Furthermore, Hojlund had an expected goals of just 5.24 this season: the issue with goalscoring perhaps does not lie solely with the strikers themselves. The whole system is dysfunctional, with the Dane not getting excellent service, and perhaps with manager Ruben Amorim implementing his tactics better next season, he will thrive more.
