McKenna: We've No Interest in Selling Delap and He Has No Interest in Going Anywhere Else Thursday, 28th Nov 2024 16:36 Boss Kieran McKenna says the Blues have no interest in selling striker Liam Delap and that the frontman similarly has no interest in going anywhere else, despite plenty of speculation regarding the six-goal 21-year-old future only four months into his Portman Road career. Former club Manchester City and Chelsea have been especially frequently linked over recent days, while Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Newcastle have also previously been mentioned. Italian giants Juventus are also understood to have sent scouts to watch the England U21 international, who is contracted to the Blues until the summer of 2029, in action. It was widely reported when Delap joined Town from City for an initial £15 million in the summer that there was a buy-back clause in the deal. Various scenarios have been outlined regarding how this might work, but it’s likely the position is that City have the option to match any bids the Blues might receive from elsewhere within a set timeframe, a situation similar to the one involving Town target Jaden Philogene in the summer which saw the winger return to Aston Villa from Hull City. “A buy-back clause is not something I am aware of or interested in, to be honest,” McKenna said when quizzed on the position. “I know my full focus is on this season and with regards to Liam, helping him to continue to improve. “I know Liam’s full focus is on here and on the team and trying to help the team while continuing his own improvement. He has had a good start to the season which is positive. “But we have to remember that it’s very early stages for Liam. He’s really in his first season starting regularly as a number nine. “He played off the side a lot of times last year at Hull, he played as a wide striker in his early Championship loan moves, so as a nine, starting down the middle of the pitch, this is his first season doing it week-in, week-out, maybe now doing it two times a week and at Premier League level. “It is of course positive that he is doing well, but it is really early days. His focus, my focus, our focus is just to continue to improve. Asked about the buy-back clause situation again later in his press conference, McKenna added: “No, I’ve not asked [chairman and CEO] Mark [Ashton] about it. “I know we’ve got no interest in selling Liam and Liam’s got no interest in going anywhere else at the moment, he wants to continue to focus on his performance and his game and improving and helping the team here. That’s where everyone’s focus is.” McKenna says Portman Road is the best place for the one-time Derby County schoolboy at present. “I think that’s pretty clear,” he said. “I said that in the summer and that was part of the things I spoke to not just Liam but the likes of Omari and people like that about. “There are not too many 21-year-olds playing week-in, week-out in the Premier League and there are not too many who have the number nine position or the number 10 position or a centre-half position. “All those positions are a responsibility and that’s part of our model, not the only bit of our model, part of our model is to invest in young talent and give them the environment and the opportunity to succeed. “Some of the boys have had a pretty good start on that, but it’s only a start. Let’s continue in that way.” Quizzed on whether he believes Delap is now worth double the £15 million Town paid for him, McKenna said: “I think that’s a question for other people and for Mark Ashton, I don’t think too much about the value. I don’t worry as long as we’ve done the right thing for the club. “People can look at transfer fees but what we pay for a Liam Delap or an Omari Hutchinson or a Jacob Greaves or a Leif Davis two years ago, I don’t worry about that too much because I know and I feel like they’re good investments for the football club. “And what his market value is now, there’s not many strikers of that type of profile in football, that’s the honest truth, but it’s not a concern of mine, the only concern is just trying to push him and help him get better all the time.” Regarding what Delap’s next stride forward on the field needs to be, he added: “For any young player hitting a good level, consistency is a big one. It’s not necessarily all about the next thing. “It’s early in the season and early for him. So he has to keep going first and foremost. He has to stay consistent, he has to stay grounded, he has to keep doing the things that have brought him success up until this point – both in his career and more specifically this season. “He has to show he can do those things and apply himself in a really, really consistent basis and do it over a period of months – and then for a season and over a period of seasons. “I think that’s a hallmark of the top strikers in the league. They are so consistent over longer periods of time. Other than that, he is already making big strides in his game, to be honest. “From when he arrived here, I think he is a different animal off the ball. His understanding of how he can influence the game, both in dropping and linking positions but also his movement to stretch in behind and in the channels, is improving. “I still think his penalty box movement can improve. It’s good to see him score one or two goals like that this season. I think the Brentford goal, where he made a sharp movement across the defender, was a really good one, but he can still improve in those situations. “I think in his all-round game, he has that profile as an all-round striker, which isn’t easy. He is a fine physical size who can run behind and drop and link and he is now showing he can work off the ball and do the other sides of the game as well. “When you have that profile, you want him to keep improving in every area. Of course, scoring goals is the most valuable thing in football. But when you have an all round profile like Liam, he’s got to work hard to improve all aspects of his game. But if he does that, then he will be a great player.” Former England international Danny Murphy said on Match of the Day last week that Delap is the obvious long-term successor to Harry Kane in the England team. McKenna was asked how his striker took that compliment: “I can’t imagine, knowing Liam, that he’s hanging on the words of any pundits or anyone, to be honest. “People are very, very quick, not in this instance but in general, we can build young players up really, really quickly and we can put them back down or forget about them really, really quickly as well. “He’s coming from good stock, he’s coming from a football family, so I’m sure he gets that advice from there as well. “It’s about keeping your feet on the floor, not listening too much to outside noise, listening to the people close to you whose opinion you really, really value and I know that’s what he’s been doing around the football club and I’m sure that’s the advice that he’ll be getting at home as well, and I think that will serve him well.” Town haven’t had an England international since Richard Wright won a cap in a friendly in Malta in June 2000. However, McKenna isn’t particularly concerned by the prospect of Delap - or perhaps Leif Davis or maybe even Omari Hutchinson - ending that wait. “The thought of it doesn’t particularly do anything for me, to be honest,” he said. “We’ve had people from other nations get their international debut, it’s just always nice for the individual concerned and you’re always proud of it, whether it’s England or any other nation when a player who hasn’t had international duty gets it under your progress as a club. That’s always a positive. “I don’t think there’s one person in the building who is thinking about that in any way, to be honest. He added: “I think Harry Kane’s got plenty of good years in him yet, there’s plenty of time for that.”
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