Liam Delap | £30m release clause?

Munkehboi said:
Maybe first team football and a starting position? I'm not saying we wouldn't offer him that but other teams would offer him that as a starting point when you look at who they have as their current starters. West Ham have an aging and injured Antonio and Fulkrug. Forrest have a 33yr old Chris Woods for example. Brighton has a structure and clear identity and Welbeck won't be around forever. We have history but let's not kid ourselves and say that we are a massive pull for every player right now.
Click to expand...
If we are buying him for 30m , he is starting. period.
And we are still massive pull outside of top 4. Let's get deluded now.
 
I don't get this. He's not a bad player, but for a short term solution he doesn't bring the instant improvement and as a long term option I don't see him having the ceiling to lead us for the next few years, when we start becoming more competitive again (which seems to be the aim). Even with high wages, signing someone like Osimhen or Gyokeres would make much more sense to lift us to a better team, which is why I want us to try get them first.
 
I'm not entirely convinced by him. But the fee is enticing considering we won't get close to the strikers we actually want.
 
dubplate warrior said:
Yep. We did exactly that with Zirkzee.
Click to expand...

I think in that case though we paid the extra to get Bologna to agree to spread the payments but it still would not have prevented another club from meeting the release clause and also negotiating with him. Paying more might get you better payment terms but it won't guarantee any sort of exclusivity and at 30M Delap is bargain priced and likely to be talking to multiple clubs. I think the only way we get an exclusive window is as has been mentioned if we negotiate a higher fee before relegation is confirmed and the clause is activated. I don't really see INEOS going for that right now with so much of our own financial position still up in the air depending on how the Europa League goes.
 
aeh1991 said:
I don't get this. He's not a bad player, but for a short term solution he doesn't bring the instant improvement and as a long term option I don't see him having the ceiling to lead us for the next few years, when we start becoming more competitive again (which seems to be the aim). Even with high wages, signing someone like Osimhen or Gyokeres would make much more sense to lift us to a better team, which is why I want us to try get them first.
Click to expand...
Neither Osimhen or Gyokeres are guaranteed to succeed in the PL and we have too many areas to focus on to blow our budget (fee and salary) on them.

I think this summer we need to consolidate and bring in players across the board who will improve and fit the system and then next summer bring in a heavy hitter.

It’s not ideal but I can’t see it any other way given how grim financials seem to be
 
DJ_21 said:
Yes if we want to become a team like yours. A player like Osimhen would instantly get us closer to top 4
Click to expand...
That makes no sense. You can't sign a team of Osimhen level players. So you have to, as I say, make the biggest possible gains in the most possible areas of the pitch.
 
PoTMS said:
I'm not entirely convinced by him. But the fee is enticing considering we won't get close to the strikers we actually want.
Click to expand...

He's probably close to the player we thought Hojlund could be if he wasn't immediately thrown into the fire of a club in free fall. He would be best accompanied with a more established striker.
 
aeh1991 said:
I don't get this. He's not a bad player, but for a short term solution he doesn't bring the instant improvement and as a long term option I don't see him having the ceiling to lead us for the next few years, when we start becoming more competitive again (which seems to be the aim). Even with high wages, signing someone like Osimhen or Gyokeres would make much more sense to lift us to a better team, which is why I want us to try get them first.
Click to expand...

Did you imagine Gyokeres having this ceiling when he was the same age as Delap? Playing for Coventry?
 
Raoul said:
He's probably close to the player we thought Hojlund could be if he wasn't immediately thrown into the fire of a club in free fall. He would be best accompanied with a more established striker.
Click to expand...
This is kinda the problem I have with this signing, if we get Delap we're basically writing off Hojlund but we're also not gonna spend big on a better more established forward if we sell Hojlund and sign Delap.

So we're either stuck with Delap and Hojlund next summer which isn't convincing currently, or we bin off Hojlund entirely and are left with only Delap, replacing inexperience with more inexperience.

Do I have to remind people as well that Delap has scored 12 goals in his first season with Ipswich, Hojlund scored 16 in his first season for us, 2 less in the league overall. Granted Ipswich are a worse team, but I don't see anything that convinces me he's a much better player than Hojlund.

Considering the money we still owe on Hojlund and how little his wages are, the smarter move is putting our money in a experienced more established forward, see if Hojlund can kick on with this more experienced forward for next season -- which is the situation he should have walked into at the club in the first place --- If not, THEN bin Hojlund next summer and either evaluate if Chido Obi is ready to step up, or invest in another young forward then.
 
At £30m and on comparably sensible wages it is easy to see why the club are interested.
In reality, without a CL place Gyokeres and Osimhen are much less likely to sign for Utd and would need huge wages
 
If anyone wants to put in the work and compare Rasmus (last season) to Delap (this season) only in the premier league. Toggle p90 stats and compare.

https://fbref.com/en/stathead/playe...3-2024&player_id2=dd897ee7&p2yrfrom=2024-2025

Remarkably similar stats but Hojlund winning out on most. But one plays for Man Utd and the other for Ipswich so that has to count for something. Ipswich this season are shitter than we were last season by a mile. We scored 57 goals last season and Ipswich this year are on target for 38. That's a good 50% more goals in total than Ipswich.

It's hard to understate how bad Ipswich (or really all 3 teams getting relegated this year) are.

In fact Hojlund 23-24 vs Delap 24-25 vs Hojlund 24-25 is also quite interesting.

https://fbref.com/en/stathead/playe...4-2025&player_id3=491a433d&p3yrfrom=2024-2025

Hojlund has fallen off a cliff this season. Probably no fault of his because we're on track to score 45 goals this season. It's also hard to understate how shit our attack is.
 
Last edited:
bond19821982 said:
If we are buying him for 30m , he is starting. period.
And we are still massive pull outside of top 4. Let's get deluded now.
Click to expand...

What rationale is that? There's a plethora of players bought for much more than that who are not starters. We are still a big pull, I agree but we're going to be bidding equally with possibly quite a number of teams so our chances of signing him are always going to be slimmer. We will likely be able to offer better wages than most though so that's usually a sweetener in negotiations.
 
L1nk said:
This is kinda the problem I have with this signing, if we get Delap we're basically writing off Hojlund but we're also not gonna spend big on a better more established forward if we sell Hojlund and sign Delap.

So we're either stuck with Delap and Hojlund next summer which isn't convincing currently, or we bin off Hojlund entirely and are left with only Delap, replacing inexperience with more inexperience.

Do I have to remind people as well that Delap has scored 12 goals in his first season with Ipswich, Hojlund scored 16 in his first season for us, 2 less in the league overall. Granted Ipswich are a worse team, but I don't see anything that convinces me he's a much better player than Hojlund.

Considering the money we still owe on Hojlund and how little his wages are, the smarter move is putting our money in a experienced more established forward, see if Hojlund can kick on with this more experienced forward for next season -- which is the situation he should have walked into at the club in the first place --- If not, THEN bin Hojlund next summer and either evaluate if Chido Obi is ready to step up, or invest in another young forward then.
Click to expand...

I suspect the club will make the right decision in the end. SJR, Berada, Wilcox, and Amorim are no doubt fully aware of the risk of not moving back into the top 4 picture next year, so I suspect they will overcompensate by buying multiple attackers instead of just going with Delap.
 
Main thing is we win the EL.

That will be enough to entice Gyokeres I'm sure

Delap as our second striker would be great and give Gyokeres some space to acclimatise to the PL too

Selling Zirkzee or Hojlund to Serie A for 30m and bringing Delap in to me feels like a no brainer
 
cpresc said:
Main thing is we win the EL.

That will be enough to entice Gyokeres I'm sure

Delap as our second striker would be great and give Gyokeres some space to acclimatise to the PL too

Selling Zirkzee or Hojlund to Serie A for 30m and bringing Delap in to me feels like a no brainer
Click to expand...

100%.

If we're in the CL, it immediately unlocks access to a broader swath of players. That's not to say we can't get Gyokeres or the others without CL though. His relationship with Amorim will override all other considerations imo.
 
This signing suggests we are looking for PL proven and might sign one of Cunha or Mbeumo as the number 10/SS player to play along with him.

The fact remains that Rashford, Antony and Sancho should all definitely be leaving and one of Hojlund or Garnaucho might as well so we will need a minimum of three attacking strikers in to replace what’s going out?

Maybe Johnathon David on a free is the third option to go with De lap and Cunha?
 
Woziak said:
This signing suggests we are looking for PL proven and might sign one of Cunha or Mbeumo as the number 10/SS player to play along with him.

The fact remains that Rashford, Antony and Sancho should all definitely be leaving and one of Hojlund or Garnaucho might as well so we will need a minimum of three attacking strikers in to replace what’s going out?

Maybe Johnathon David on a free is the third option to go with De lap and Cunha?
Click to expand...
Can't see David coming additionally as a bench warmer
 
L1nk said:
So we're either stuck with Delap and Hojlund next summer which isn't convincing currently
Click to expand...

I guess a key question at that point would be how "convincing" we will need our CF to be.

If you look at Chelsea for example (who are currently 4th) their top scorer Palmer has just 1 more non-penalty goal than Delap this season, despite playing for a much better team. Same with a team like Arsenal, whose top scorer in the league has 1 fewer goal from open play than Delap. But crucially they have lots of other players chipping in with their small share of goals.

So if worst came to worse and we had to make do with someone like Delap rather than a Gyokeres/Osimhen level CF, a lot would then rest on what we do in other positions.

For example, if we also added a Cunha-style #10 who can provide around 20 goal contributions a season, then the burden on the CF is lifted quite a bit. Ditto things like adding an attacking RWB, adding a CM that allows Bruno to play further forward, getting better at set-pieces, conceding fewer goals, etc. And the plus with a Delap-style signing is that it inevitably gives you more financial resources to invest in those other areas.

We're focused on CF for obvious reasons, but the silver lining to being as bad as we've been this season is that there are plenty of other areas that can be improved as well.
 
UpWithRivers said:
He will get plenty of game time and youth players are fkn idiots for wanting to be first choice at a young age at a big club unless they are that good i.e. Rooney levels. Which he's not . The best thing that can happen for him is to have an experienced striker ahead of him to take the pressure and learn from. In 3/4 years he will be ready if he's good enough and can take the experienced strikers place.
Click to expand...
Well when it’s also Chelsea or Liverpool who are possibilities and also don’t have experienced strikers, but more another he will rotate with properly. He won’t go to a club who just buys a 26 year old striker hitting their prime and so will be first choice for 4 years. He’s not going to go there.
 
Red in STL said:
Sorry but you're all deluding yourselves if you think Delap is going to cost 30M

That's an amount set as a release clause in his contract, United are not the only team who might be interested, if someone wants him badly they'll bid higher than 30M
Click to expand...
Ah, the old Woodward/Fellaini trick ... Why pay the release clause when you can pay more!
 
Looks a reasonable striker, nothing special but we are cash poor and most of the other options are considerably more expensive. I suspect we only go for him if it's at the £30m mark.
 
Red in STL said:
Sorry but you're all deluding yourselves if you think Delap is going to cost 30M

That's an amount set as a release clause in his contract, United are not the only team who might be interested, if someone wants him badly they'll bid higher than 30M
Click to expand...
No they would just trigger the release and offer a better contract to the player.
 
Andrei Kanspellthis said:
Nailed it. This is a realistic solution we will likely have to resort to in the summer. Much of the comments here and elsewhere on the cafe seem to miss two fundamental problems we have - that our pulling power is diminished, along with our ability to outbid and offer huge wages, and generally compete intensively with other big clubs for the likes of Osimhen, Gyokeres and even Delap (should Chelsea make a bid for him). Compounding this will be Forest's new-found ability to attract proven attackers in the PL or elsewhere.
If I was Delap, I'd be thinking 'yes, Man Utd - a world beast of a club where I could be the no.9 probably starting each week'. I'd also be thinking 'they score hardly any goals, who's going to supply me? Am I going to be under massive pressure immediately (wouldn't be the case at Chelsea where Palmer and others chip in loads). The team is struggling, atmosphere at the club might not be great/other strikers have left because they hated it' etc etc.
We can wish for proven goalscorers, but our financial situation hampers us and we're really up against it. Affordability and having to 'sell the environment' will be new challenges for Wilcox/Berrada.
Click to expand...

Our pulling power just isn't what it was even 6 years ago, when we could entice a massive name like Zlatan. We'll get there again, but that's not where we are now. And although I am skeptical of the claim that the club has a small transfer warchest, we have to take the claim at face value for now until we're proven wrong.

Delap ticks the right boxes in light of where United are right now as a club.
 
Red in STL said:
Sorry but you're all deluding yourselves if you think Delap is going to cost 30M

That's an amount set as a release clause in his contract, United are not the only team who might be interested, if someone wants him badly they'll bid higher than 30M
Click to expand...
No one is going to bid higher than the release clause. There's no need. You meet the release clause and then it's up to what the player wants to do and whether the sporting project / financial package that's put in front of him appeals.

You get the player to agree to come to you. Then you can talk to the club about maybe paying a bit more than release clause to make the spread of the financials easier for your club ala zirkzee.

Gotta get the player to agree to come first.
 
Would like Delap if we could somehow sell Hojlund, but we need a more established experienced striker I think. Delap on rotation would be great.
 
Will be a great deal for somebody at £30m. I hope as a neutral he makes the right step for his career development though, England are going to need a quality CF once Kane is gone and he is probably leading the pack in terms of potential. I'd hate for him to go to Chelsea or Utd and stagnate (not saying he definitely would, but I could see both moves being too big especially given both sides are somewhat dysfunctional at the moment).
 
.
Widow said:
Not really, release clauses have to be paid in full. It's common to pay a little more and spread the payments.
Click to expand...
Except RiS wasn't talking about striking a deal to spread the cost by paying slightly more, he was talking about a bidding war.
 
Put it this way, if he was at Brighton and had scored even just a couple more goals he’d be priced at £80m at a minimum.

£30m is a steal in todays market. Whether he’s the guy to take us to the top again is a different question.
 
Varun1 said:
.

Except RiS wasn't talking about striking a deal to spread the cost by paying slightly more, he was talking about a bidding war.
Click to expand...
Nope I wasn't and I was wrong, I need to have more coffee in the morning before posting!
 
Widow said:
Not really, release clauses have to be paid in full. It's common to pay a little more and spread the payments.
Click to expand...
actually a good point considering our PSR position. We may not have 30m in ready cash.
 
30m is a steal. Antony going would more than pay it.
 
I’d definitely take him for £30m. Got lots of potential but I’d feel we’d also need Osimhen or equivalent to be our number 1. The whole point of getting a new striker in is because our other ones are young and potentially not up to the task so getting in another uncertain youngster and going again isn’t my preferred choice. If we dump Hojlund and get Delap AND buy a main 9 then great!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.