fecking hell, he is much better than Hojlund technically
He is better in my opinion than Zirkzee and Hojlund neither of which would score 12 for a relegation side that does not create much. You are entitled to your own opinion
Liam Delap | In Manchester for talks (Athletic)
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He is better in my opinion than Zirkzee and Hojlund neither of which would score 12 for a relegation side that does not create much. You are entitled to your own opinion
I've watched Ipswich play a lot this season and Delap is better all-round than Hojlund, but he is still not as good as other options we could be looking to sign. I updated my comment with some alternatives that would be better imo. See below:
You seem to be saying Delap is a better all-round player than Hojlund which I wouldn't disagree with, but I also think there are clearly far better all-round strikers on the market we should be targeting ahead of either of them. Feel free to take out whoever you think is unrealistic, but some potentially possible names that should be targeted ahead of Delap imo include - Isak, Gyokeres, Osimhen, Thuram, David, Ekitike, Pavlidis, Retegui and Sesko. After that, sure Delap is probably the next best option, but that's still a decent list of alternatives to target first imo.
EDIT: I also disagree that Delap is better than Zirkzee technically. I think Zirkzee has a far better touch, linkup play and is a better dribbler. Zirkzee is a far less reliable goalscorer though.
Name the things Hojlund is better at.
Delap is a much much better ball carrier than Hojlind but Delap's first touch is one of the worst I've ever seen in the premier league.
I did not say anything about other options we can sign, and if you read up I already said we should sell Hojlund and sign someone else and Delap.
Never said Delap was better technically than Zirkzee just that he is a better CF. Zirkzee doesn’t even believe he is a CF
Hojlunds is worse
I am just about as interested in how many goals Højlund or Zirkzee would score for a relegation side as I am in how many Delap would score for us.
This is a simplification at its best. Hojlund plays for one of the biggest clubs in the world with a colossal pressure on his shoulders. Delap plays for a relegation Ipswich. Don't underestimate the effect pressure can have on a player.
As for what Delap is superior at: it's ball carrying, balance and better dribbling. The rest just isn't good enough, same as Hojlund.
Fair enough. I'd be fine with Delap as a backup and selling Hojlund. I'd just be concerned if we were signing him as the starting striker. Yes, you're right about your Zirkzee comment. I conflated your Hojlund not being as technically good as Delap point with Zirkzee by mistake. I agree with you that Zirkzee isn't suited to the cf position for us (though I do still think he can be very useful to us as one of the 10s).
Feel free to compare Delap with Hojlund at Atalanta
Bleak isn’t it.
I think it's safe to say that Hojlund at Atalanta was much more rated than Delap for Hull, don't you agree?
I think its safe to say Delap this season showed more than Hojlund did at Atalanta so thats moot
Worst rated player on my app for the game today.
I have no problem with taking a chance on him but please for heaven's sake not as our main striker.
I have no problem with taking a chance on him but please for heaven's sake not as our main striker.
Not really. Very similar stats.
I’ve watched more Ipswich lately searching for the slightest glimmer of hope that my previous view of him was in some way off. If anything, it’s been confirmed. He’s a young striker suitable for traditionally mid table sides. If he ever somehow hit the jackpot and wound up at United, one would hope it would be to compliment an experienced, established striker and not as the featured starter.
I just don't get it. Don't see it in him at all and is following a similar transfer plan to the last two strikers we have bought albeit him having played in the premier league. I wouldn't be concerned if any of Chelsea/Liverpool/arsenal/Newcastle/spurs/city got him.
I'd obviously have oshimen/gykores over him. I'd rather we see us going for mateta/David over him.
I'd obviously have oshimen/gykores over him. I'd rather we see us going for mateta/David over him.
Good thing stats are not actual matches
And you would hope it wouldn’t be for 30m quid.
I think £30m is a pretty reasonable amount for us to be spending on a second choice striker to be honest. That really doesn't sound excessive to me.
It’s not. It’s stupid money and just the sort of logic that has seen us piss hundreds of millions of pounds up the wall since SAF retired.
Allowing for football transfer inflation SAF absolutely spent that much on strikers that weren't first choice.
We spent £20m on Nani in 2007, who was signed as someone with a lot of potential would would be in and around the first team but not starting every match. Hojlund, Delap and Osimhen/Gyokeres would definitely be overkill but if the plan was to move Hojlund on then £30m is pretty decent value.
Nani was a world class talent who was being touted as the next Ronaldo at the time.
Delap looks like the next Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
To you, maybe. Nani wasn't widely regarded as a world class talent though, there were plenty of questions around him. He wasn't even the highest rated talent we signed from Portugal that year.
And if that's your read on Delap then I'm not going to waste time arguing you out of it, but that doesn't explain why you think we'd get a starter for £30m
Mate Nani was being touted as the next big thing coming out of Sporting and there were comparisons to Ronaldo which at the time were valid as the latter was still playing as a traditional winger at that point. Not gonna split hairs here re Anderson etc. The point is it’s just not comparable to Delap who IMO lacks the technique to ever lead the line for a top club.
Quality players go for less than £30m every season we just have to be more shrewd in the market.
Again, that's really just based on your opinion on Delap's ability, not whether £30m is a fair price for a young player who might not necessarily be ready to start every game.
£30m for the next DCL would be a bad deal even if he was being bought to start.
Yes if I thought he was maybe the next Vardy it would be very different.
Allowing for football transfer inflation (or not) SAF also signed some terrible players, there seems to be this fallacy the he never got a transfer badly wrong which is absolutely not true!
I don't think that was the implication there at all, was it?
We already have a second choice striker, we paid an unreasonable sum of money for him, but that's water under the bridge. We need to be signing a first choice striker now.
If you mean Hojlund then I was rather hoping we'd move him on.
I mean sure but he also signed numerous strikers for fees comparably larger than £30m of today's money that weren't first choice and weren't bad signings.
It is an interesting take, but when it comes to predicting goals in a season - would you choose the main striker in one of the biggest clubs in the world, or one from a newly promoted side?
We may well finish one place ahead of Ipswich.
The only reason we're in is because 30M release clause but I guess it's fine because you need two strikers at #9 and Hojlund and Delap can rotate based on form / fixture congestion. I'd calibrate my expectations here. Young striker, might flop, mighty play well. No way to tell.
Mateta @ 50M for me is too expensive. Maybe we drag it out and both Mateta and Osimhen become cheaper - Mateta with one year on his contract, Napoli asking price has already come down because of Osimhen's wage demands. As we get closer to the end of the window, Napoli and Osimhen will get more and more desperate. I'd roll the dice here and leave it towards the end of the window.
I don't understand why we don't want Jonathan David on a free, that seems like a no-brainer unless he said yes to someone already.
Mateta @ 50M for me is too expensive. Maybe we drag it out and both Mateta and Osimhen become cheaper - Mateta with one year on his contract, Napoli asking price has already come down because of Osimhen's wage demands. As we get closer to the end of the window, Napoli and Osimhen will get more and more desperate. I'd roll the dice here and leave it towards the end of the window.
I don't understand why we don't want Jonathan David on a free, that seems like a no-brainer unless he said yes to someone already.
Because we're probably not approaching the most important buy in years (namely a competent #9 who actually scores a lot of goals) through a scarcity mindset of needing to save money. If we weren't buying Cunha at £55m or so, we could easily spend the entire £100m available on one striker. Fortunately, we won't need to do that since most players we want are available at £55m or below.
Osimhen has already been ruled out as an option apparently due to his wage demands. As for David he just isn’t very prolific from open play. His stats are extremely mediocre and coming from the Ligue 1 that doesn’t bode well.
So it’s Gyökeres or bust in the “established” striker market this summer. Slim pickings. If we want a difference maker we will have to go the Bill James route most likely.
When you watch him in Ipswich, he still looks raw. He’s physically far better than Hojlund and far better aerially than Hojlund. In addition, he knows how to use his physical strength to carry the ball forward and protect the ball. But his shooting technique and his general play such as movement and passings/link up play are still raw.
£30m is good value but I don’t think we should spend another £30m just to add another raw striker, unless if the plan is Delap will become our backup striker while we get Gyokeres as our main striker.
£30m is good value but I don’t think we should spend another £30m just to add another raw striker, unless if the plan is Delap will become our backup striker while we get Gyokeres as our main striker.
What makes you say we aren't approaching say, Gyokeres behind the scenes?
This guy is terrible and his fake hard man act would annoy me even if he played for us.