Man Utd and Chelsea get major transfer boost in race for £30m striker target

Ipswich Town have been officially relegated from the Premier League, clearing the way for Manchester United and Chelsea to chase their star striker Liam Delap this summer

Manchester United and Chelsea can go all out to try and sign Liam Delap after Ipswich’s relegation from the Premier League. Delap has caught the eye for the Tractor Boys this season, notching 12 league goals despite his side’s struggles at the bottom of the table.

The 22-year-old striker is playing his first season in the top flight but has looked immediately at home at the highest level. He always appeared likely to leave Ipswich in the summer transfer window and confirmation of Ipswich’s relegation back to the Championship makes that even more likely.

Ipswich joined Southampton and Leicester in making an immediate return to the Championship on Saturday after losing 3-0 to Newcastle. Manager Kieran McKenna has suggested that they could try and hold onto their star player, but they will be powerless to do so if a bigger club comes in for him.

That is because Delap’s £30million release clause has now officially become active following the relegation. United and Chelsea have both been linked with him and the summer transfer window opens for business on June 1.

United want to sign two strikers this summer and are poised to pay £62.5m to land Matheus Cunha from Wolves. But the need for more firepower is so pronounced that Ruben Amorim wants two forwards, with Delap or Victor Osimhen targeted alongside Cunha.

Speaking ahead of the trip to Newcastle, McKenna claimed that Delap’s departure wasn’t inevitable. "I don't know who it would be accepted by, because that's not by myself or Ipswich," he said. "Liam's focus is still here and finishing the season as strong as possible. "As I've said before, I think there's certainly a possibility that he's an Ipswich player next year. I don't think anything's decided in anyone's mind.

"But can Liam play for the biggest clubs in the country, the biggest clubs in the world? He certainly can. I fully believe that. He's already shown the impact he can have at Premier League level in a team that have really been fighting for everything.

"I think he can have an outstanding impact at this level. But he's also very young and he's playing his first season of Premier League football. He's not played a huge amount of minutes as a leading striker in a team before and he's still learning and getting better all the time.

"What's right for Liam? What's right for Ipswich? All those factors will come into play in the summer and the right decision will be made. But he's happy and he's developing really well here. He has the potential. I think he will, in his career, go on to do some really, really good things."