Manchester United have been advised that a bid of £60 million, along with a weekly salary of £150,000, could be enough to secure Ipswich Town’s standout forward, Liam Delap. The 22-year-old has been in impressive form this season, netting 12 goals in 30 Premier League appearances, making him a prime target for United’s summer transfer plans.
Despite Ipswich’s struggles near the relegation zone, Delap has a £40 million release clause in his contract. However, former United goalkeeper Ben Foster believes that United might need to exceed this amount to fend off competition from other interested clubs.
Ben Foster said: “Where’s Liam Delap going to go because he’s leaving Ipswich guaranteed. He’s probably got ten teams looking at him in the Premier League, because he’s a plan A for a few and he is an unreal plan B for a lot of them. It’s going to cost £60m just because of his age. He’s young, he’s shown what he can do and he’s aggressive. I think he’d be a fantastic addition for any of those teams. Man United could sign him and he would suit them down to the ground as well. When they’re willing to pay you 150 grand a week, I think he’d go there.”
Despite Foster’s endorsement, Delap is reportedly keen on joining a team where he would be guaranteed regular playing time. This season, Manchester United have struggled with scoring, averaging just over one goal per game in the Premier League. Bruno Fernandes leads the club’s scoring chart with eight goals, while Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have only managed three each.
United’s forward options have included names like Sporting Clube de Portugal’s Victor Gyokeres, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike. However, Delap has emerged as a leading candidate to bolster their attacking lineup.
Ruben Amorim said: “I just want to focus on our strengths and bring in one or two players – big players. We need to focus and we are doing all the stuff to be next season so much better. In my idea, I cannot manage this thing of ‘in four years we will try something’. We need to be so much better now. This is a massive club. The focus must be how to improve our team in every aspect. The Premier League is so difficult. I hear a lot of people saying Sir Alex Ferguson won three or four years to win something – but it’s not possible these days, because you have to give three interviews before every game, so the pressure is so much different. But we are Manchester United. There are a lot of good things. No matter the pressure, we have to be there with the other big ones. We have to face a lot of adversity and a lot of big teams, more than in the past.”
Manchester United fans will be keenly watching the developments as the summer transfer window approaches, hoping for reinforcements to improve their attacking fortunes.
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