Man Utd and Chelsea target Liam Delap makes final decision on £30m transfer

Liam Delap was left with a choice between leaving Ipswich Town for Chelsea or Manchester United in the summer transfer window, with his £30million release clause active

Liam Delap has snubbed Manchester United to join Chelsea this summer, according to reports. Delap is poised to leave Ipswich Town when the summer transfer window opens for business next month, with a £30million release clause becoming active.

The 22-year-old striker scored 12 goals in the Premier League for Ipswich this season and their relegation to the Championship has opened the door for a move. He has attracted plenty of interest, with David Moyes admitting last week that Delap had “spoken to three or four clubs”, including Everton.

United had previously been confident of landing the England under-21 international, but it seems that recent events have tipped the balance. Ruben Amorim’s side finished a dismal 15th in the Premier League and won’t play any form of European football next season after losing the Europa League final to Tottenham.

By contrast, Chelsea ended the season in style, securing a place in the Champions League by finishing in fourth place before winning the Conference League by beating Real Betis in Wednesday’s final. They also have personal connections to Delap, thanks to Enzo Maresca and recruitment director Joe Shields.

Maresca coached Delap during his time in Manchester City’s academy, while Shields played a role in sealing Delap's move from Derby to join City's academy in 2019. That has led to Delap giving the Blues a green light over the deal, according to talkSPORT.

Delap is understood to want to get things wrapped up before playing for England under-21s at this summer’s European Championship. The young Lions get their campaign under way with a match against Czechia on June 12 and, with Chelsea willing to pay his £30m release clause, it seems a deal could be done quickly.

United are close to announcing a £62.5m deal to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves, but had hoped to capture Delap as well in a double swoop. It seems as though their Europa League final failure and subsequent embarrassing defeat by ASEAN All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur is working against them.

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“Liam’s looking at his options for next year, which I think he is entitled to do and we support him with that,” Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna said at a press conference before their final game of the season.

“I think we have given him permission to do that this week. It’s a very important decision for his future. Of course there is a lot of interest – and rightly so. I think part of his week has been having some of those conversations.

“It looks more likely than not that he will move on this summer and he has interest from pretty much every club in the league, and I don’t think there are many clubs in the world who wouldn’t want to have him. (However) nothing is sorted, nothing is done or completed or even very, very, very close, so that process will take its course.”