Liam Delap | £30m release clause?

BuzzKillington

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Surprised there isn’t a thread for this guy already.

Positives: He’s affordable, within reach of ourselves, better than the other two strikers we currently have, and would probably be quite keen to join.

Negatives: Unlikely to develop into prime Ronaldo/Batistuta at any point in the future.

Links are starting as below, what are the caf’s thoughts? Yeay, nay, or go feck myself for even bringing it up?

Personally, I’d rather Delap to Osimhen. Gyokeres seems like as big a gamble, but more expensive and older.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...news-derby-post-season-tour-Confidential.html
 
BuzzKillington said:
Surprised there isn’t a thread for this guy already.

Positives: He’s affordable, within reach of ourselves, better than the other two strikers we currently have, and would probably be quite keen to join.

Negatives: Unlikely to develop into prime Ronaldo/Batistuta at any point in the future.

Links are starting as below, what are the caf’s thoughts? Yeay, nay, or go feck myself for even bringing it up?

Personally, I’d rather Delap to Osimhen. Gyokeres seems like as big a gamble, but more expensive and older.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...news-derby-post-season-tour-Confidential.html
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The only criteria, imo, for signing a striker is whether they have previously demonstrated being a prolific goal scorer. Otherwise we're simply risking another Hojlund situation.
 
Underwhelming on paper - but probably a smart buy if less than £40m and reasonable wages
 
Raoul said:
The only criteria, imo, for signing a striker is whether they have previously demonstrated being a prolific goal scorer. Otherwise we're simply risking another Hojlund situation.
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I’d love that, but who are these players. They exist, but they’re already playing at clubs as big as ours, who are currently in a better position than us, and are unavailable because of this.

Last summer I was hoping there’d be a breakthrough striker this year, more than a few to be honest, which would make this easier. But there’s a dearth of good strikers available at the moment, options are seemingly very limited.
 
Not sure there's much that puts him above the typical relegation level striker. Puts himself about a bit, shithouses opposition players, dives for free kicks on the halfway line.

From what I've seen, he's basically Ashley Barnes except he can dribble a little bit.
 
He isn't good enough. Will be like signing rasmus and zirzkee again personally
 
Scousers will sign Isak who’ll score 35 next season. We’ll get this mush who’ll get us 7. Until we set our sights on elite players we’ll remain where we are.

Delap is 22, he’s not a 17/18 y/o kid. His ceiling is incredibly low.
 
If we have the option to sign Osimhen, we should sign Osimhen and stop being stupid. He's a top goalscorer, and we need that. We won't have a chance to develop as a team without a reliable scorer giving us breathing room by actually scoring goals and bringing results. Wins bring confidence, wins relieve pressure, and you need goals for that. Using Delap to be that person is probably going to keep us mid table next season, and ensure we get a new manager the following season and keep the cycle going.

Delap is a very good talent, very good potential. He's not ready to handle the pressure of carrying the club as the main goalscorer. It's dumb to try it.

The only 2 viable options for this club up top should be Osimhen or Gyokeres. If it's not them, it's probably going to be a flop or underwhelming, or not transform us as much as the striker we should be getting would.
 
The reality is that there aren't many top strikers on the market, a lot of sides will be interested in the ones that are, and we're currently far from the most attractive of those sides. And we have financial limitations on top of that.

In that context I'm not suprised we're being linked with Delap, as he's been linked to other big PL sides too.

But if he's who we end up going (or having to settle) for then I really hope our scouting is on point, because personally I find it hard to tell how good he is given just how poor Ipswich are.
 
G97 said:
Scousers will sign Isak who’ll score 35 next season. We’ll get this mush who’ll get us 7. Until we set our sights on elite players we’ll remain where we are.

Delap is 22, he’s not a 17/18 y/o kid. His ceiling is incredibly low.
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Liverpool will never pay the money needed to get Isak out of Newcastle. If I was doing a matchmaker on most likely destinations of players for the next window based on no club signing more than 1 striker I think it will be;

Liverpool - Gyokeres
Arsenal - Osimhen
Chelsea - Delap
Newcastle - Ekiteke thump
Villa - Vlahovic
Spurs - David
United - Kieffer Moore
 
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Also, am I right in thinking Jason Wilcox would have worked with Delap when both were at City?
 
Big lump of a bloke who would do my head in when he inevitably goes on a goal drought and contributes very little other than conceding free kicks from being too physical. No thanks.
 
Basically another Nunez, he won’t score enougb but he'll get the fans onside by being a shit house and rattling into opposition defenders.
 
We need a proven goal scorer - he's not ready. Osimhen or Gyokeres all the way.
 
Osimhen seems like a disaster in the waiting and will undo anything Amorim has done to reset the dressing room attitude, so whatever player prevents that from happening I am on board with.
 
He irritates me with his hard man act but I'll probably flip flop as soon as he joins for what it's worth.

Can't you get a Nunez type player for 40m these days? I hope all of the scouting we have can find us a Nicolas Jackson type punt. Work horse CF, decent link up ability and movement. Can't be that hard can it?
 
sullydnl said:
Also, am I right in thinking Jason Wilcox would have worked with Delap when both were at City?
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The link with Delap seems to be due to Wilcox. The only worry is that Wilcox shouldn't be identifying players when that is the job of Christian Vivell and the team of scouts working under him. Ugarte previously was said to be a Wilcox signing and this pattern is quite worrying.

As far as Delap is concerned, I can only remember him playing for City's youth where he was very good. I think what this team needs is a striking focal point which can hold the ball up and be a real box presence. There's a lot of cheap goals to be scored in that way by winning aerial and ground duels in the opposition half/penalty box. Something we haven't been able to do since Cavani's short stint at the club.

The way the game has evolved in England in the last 15 years I think in our current predicament it would be clever to sign a striker on the cheap who gives you the aforementioned attributes. And then the rest of the money should be spent on the midfield which is nowhere near good enough imo. And if your midfield doesn't have the ability in-possession to conduct attacks from a deeper lying midfield position, then you can paper over the cracks by signing a big name striker but the build up play from deeper and the rest defense capabilities out of possession in a higher line just won't be there.
 
I think Delap will be a similar striker to Chris Wood in terms of goal return. Every full season Wood has had with a Premier League club has been 10+ goals, Delap offers the same levels of physicality but has more pace and energy than Wood.

I'd take him over some of the other options that we have been linked with, I get that everyone wants a "Proven goal scorer" but there is no guarantee that Osimhen or Gyokores come in and score the same level of goals they have in other leagues.
 
MyOnlySolskjaer said:
For £40m a steal in this market, 10 goals and 2 assists in 28 for that Ipswich side is impressive.
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Well it does include a couple of penalties and when he scores in open play it is typically from a counter when he has acres of open space to run into, not a luxury our forwards are used to.
 
Not for me, willing worker but nothing more than that in my opinion.
 
Utterly De Ligt'd said:
Osimhen seems like a disaster in the waiting and will undo anything Amorim has done to reset the dressing room attitude, so whatever player prevents that from happening I am on board with.
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Where are you getting this from about attitude?
 
I see similarities in term of style of play between him and Gyokeres. They both have style of play that always move into channels a lot, has aggressive style, physically built the same and they both like to carry and progressive the ball.

Gyokeres is far better finisher, far better in ball striking, and more experienced.

I wouldn’t mind to have Delap in the squad for squad depth but only if we sign Gyokeres or Osimhen. IMO It still needs to be Gyokeres or Osimhen. Alternative choice would be Mateta depends on the price Crystal Palace is asking. We need someone with more experienced, basically not raw striker or not striker that requires time for development.
 
Raoul said:
The only criteria, imo, for signing a striker is whether they have previously demonstrated being a prolific goal scorer. Otherwise we're simply risking another Hojlund situation.
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The only criteria is to sign the striker we think will be the biggest success at United. How we arrive at that conclusion, I imagine, will be based on a number of factors.
 
I think he’s decent and for the price would be a sensible move.

1. All strikers on the market bring risk and a lack of certainty.
2. We should prioritise other positions, such as the 10s and wingbacks in the next window.
3. We get a brit for squad numbers. Somebody with clear determination suited to the english league.
4. At 40m its a reasonable fee for striker depth if he doesnt put up enough numbers.
5. As I mentioned in 3, he looks driven and a leader which suggests theres potential for him to develop further.
 
JE-365 said:
I see similarities in term of style of play between him and Gyokeres. They both have style of play that always move into channels a lot, has aggressive style, physically built the same and they both like to carry and progressive the ball.

Gyokeres is far better finisher, far better in ball striking, and more experienced.

I wouldn’t mind to have Delap in the squad for squad depth but only if we sign Gyokeres or Osimhen. IMO It still needs to be Gyokeres or Osimhen. Alternative choice would be Mateta depends on the price Crystal Palace is asking. We need someone with more experienced, basically not raw striker or not striker that requires time for development.
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Agreed. Not prioritizing a proven, prolific goal scorer would be a complete waste of funds. Short of Kane returning to England, Gyokeres and Osimhen will be the leading contenders at most big clubs in need of a striker.
 
Delap is probably our replacement for Hojlund to take over as the young striker in the club.

We will try to get a experienced striker but is heavily dependent on if we win Europa League or not.

If we do then we can go for Gyokeres. If not then the best we can hope for is Osimhen or David.

I'd be happy with Delap but id still prefer to just take a punt on someone like Sesko or Samu to be our starting striker even if they are young. Delap seems more likely due to being a relegated prospect similar to how we are targeting Tyler dibling.

Either way, I don't think just because Hojlund has failed we shouldn't be building around a young striker because Hojlund was never a hot prospect even at Atalanta. However, it's unfair on Amorim to be put under pressure of gaining a top 4 spot without any experience or generational talent at such an important role.
 
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Quagmaguire said:
Delap is probably our replacement for Hojlund to take over as the young striker in the club.

We will try to get a experienced striker but is heavily dependent on if we win Europa League or not.

If we do then we can go for Gyokeres. If not then the best we can hope for is Osimhen or David.

I'd be happy with Delap but id still prefer to just take a punt on someone like Sesko or Samu to be our starting striker even if they are young. Delap seems more likely due to being a relegated prospect similar to how we are targeting Tyler dibling.

Either way, I don't think just because Hojlund has failed we shouldn't be building around a young striker because Hojlund was never a hot prospect even at Atalanta. However, it's unfair on Amorim to be put under pressure of gaining a top 4 spot without any experience or generational talent at such an important role.
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I wouldn’t mind Delap as a backup to Gyokeres, which along with Chido, would provide depth over a 60 fixture season.

We will probably need to sell Hojlund and Zirkzee in order to get there.
 
Utterly De Ligt'd said:
Osimhen seems like a disaster in the waiting and will undo anything Amorim has done to reset the dressing room attitude, so whatever player prevents that from happening I am on board with.
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Firstly, this comment is total nonsense. Osimhen is a passionate player, leader and someone that would score a lot of goals.

I honestly can see Rasmus and Zirzkee going this summer. Our new management team seem pretty ruthless and in no way will the like what they’ve seen this season. Delap and Osimhen are a must if we are to start scoring goals. In addition, we need two 10’s and wing backs thay can supply our new strikers more consistently. Last night Harry Maguire in less than ten minutes got into goal scoring positions more than Rasmus did in 90 minutes. That says it all really
 
Rasmus_9 said:
Firstly, this comment is total nonsense. Osimhen is a passionate player, leader and someone that would score a lot of goals.

I honestly can see Rasmus and Zirzkee going this summer. Our new management team seem pretty ruthless and in no way will the like what they’ve seen this season. Delap and Osimhen are a must if we are to start scoring goals. In addition, we need two 10’s and wing backs thay can supply our new strikers more consistently. Last night Harry Maguire in less than ten minutes got into goal scoring positions more than Rasmus did in 90 minutes. That says it all really
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Can't see us buying anything more than a striker and a midfielder. Getting all our other players healthy again will be like new signings.
 
Rasmus_9 said:
Firstly, this comment is total nonsense. Osimhen is a passionate player, leader and someone that would score a lot of goals.

I honestly can see Rasmus and Zirzkee going this summer. Our new management team seem pretty ruthless and in no way will the like what they’ve seen this season. Delap and Osimhen are a must if we are to start scoring goals. In addition, we need two 10’s and wing backs thay can supply our new strikers more consistently. Last night Harry Maguire in less than ten minutes got into goal scoring positions more than Rasmus did in 90 minutes. That says it all really
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I can’t see either being sold because amortised cost is so important to PSR. We paid £70m for Hojlund and he’s been here 2 seasons, Zirkzee was something like £36m. If they signed 5 year contracts Hojlund’s book value would be £42m and Zirkee around £29m. That’s the lowest we can sell these players without affecting PSR profits. I can’t see any club offering that kind of money.
 
I'll be quite concerned and underwhelmed if Delap is our only signing up front this summer.

He's had an impressive season for Ipswich, especially given it's his first in top-flight football. With that said, the fact that it is his first season in top-flight football means we'd be taking yet another gamble on a striker who is yet to prove themselves consistently capable of scoring goals at the highest level.

I'm of the opinion that we should be doing everything to try to get Osimhen this summer at this stage. I think he'd most likely have got on the scoresheet yesterday, and I think there will be plenty of matches like that next season where such a striker could make the difference.
 
No more talented strikers who might turn out ok - in that position we are getting an established goalscorer. If we had a good striker this season - we would have been fighting for a C.L-spot.
 
I'd be alright with Delap coming in, but as others have said it'd have to be alongside a more experienced striker, even if that guy isn't a superstar. David / Delap would work for me for example, with Hojlund maybe sold in this scenario.

Gyokeres is target #1 for me if possible, but I have my doubts as to whether he'd want to join us given this'll be his most important big move.
 
The only way I can see us climbing back up the table is if we signing Top quality players.

So no.
 
He would be an instant upgrad on Zirkzee and Hojlund. For the price he will be a good value and some midtable team will take a punt and he will develop nicely. If we could somehow sell Hojlund and bring him in for our second striker, it would be great. But obviously Osimhen and Gyokeres seem obviously more senior, however with the first one he might come a bit fragile for the league to keep him fit and Gyokeres scores for fun now but portuguese league is just very poor. Delaps 10+2 in the EPL is decent too for Ipswich. Wonder how he would do there...


If we dont get him I am sure this thread will be revisited.
 
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