Manchester United have been tipped to beat Chelsea to the signing of Liam Delap this summer as Rúben Amorim’s major transfer boost is set to be confirmed.
Manchester United have been linked with various types of strikers due to their lack of finishing in front of goal from both Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee this season.
Neither player has lived up to the high expectations of the fans and the club, although they’ve shown glimpses of promise in certain matches.
The total number of goals they have managed to score this season is only six if you combine them all — a concerning number for a club of Manchester United’s stature.
This situation is far from ideal for INEOS and Rúben Amorim, which is why the club are expected to be more active as the summer transfer window approaches.
Several players are reportedly being targeted, including Hugo Ekitike, Matheus Cunha, and Liam Delap.
Among those names, Delap has particularly caught United’s attention, especially as he shares a strong connection with Jason Wilcox, which could help make the deal happen.
United tipped to beat Chelsea to Delap
United are weighing up a move for Delap after receiving the green light from Rúben Amorim to pursue a new striker ahead of the summer transfer window.
According to FootballInsider, Amorim will guarantee the 22-year-old striker regular first-team minutes and become the first-choice striker, with former United chief scout Mick Brown explaining that his former club are now ahead of Chelsea in the race for Delap.
“Delap is on a lot of clubs’ lists,” Brown explained in the report. “I’m not so sure he’ll be convinced by the move to Chelsea.
“There’s been a lot of talk about him at Man United, and if you’re Delap, you can look at that United team and feel confident you can make your mark there. The options they’ve got at the moment are not good enough, so Amorim can promise him he will get regular minutes as their starting striker.
“I don’t think he can do the same at Chelsea, Newcastle or any of the other top sides. They’ve signed a lot of players who can’t get in the team or haven’t played enough – Delap doesn’t want to become another one of those. He needs to go somewhere he’s going to play, and he knows he’s going to play at United.”
United see major Delap boost set to be confirmed
It has been widely documented that Delap has a release clause of £40 million in his contract this summer amid his fantastic record in the Premier League.
The Old Trafford target has netted 12 goals in the competition this season despite Ipswich’s significant struggles that see them in the Premier League’s bottom three places.
However, a recent report revealed that, in the event that Ipswich were to be relegated from the Premier League this summer, this release clause would drop to £30 million in order to make his move to a bigger club easier.
Ipswich Town are currently in 18th, just one point outside the relegation zone, but with the club 15 points behind West Ham in 17th with five games remaining, their relegation from the league could be finalised next weekend if they fail to beat Newcastle.
Once Kieran McKenna’s side are officially resigned to demotion, Delap’s clause will drop by £10 million, handing Amorim a much more flexible budget for the summer window, which is major for the head coach amid a time of financial uncertainty.
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