Town boss Kieran McKenna believes striker Liam Delap could play at the very highest levels of the game.

Delap, 21, joined the Blues for an initial £15 million from Manchester City in the summer and has made an impressive start to the campaign, scoring six goals in 12 Premier League starts and one sub appearance.

That form has inevitably attracted interest - or reported interest - from bigger clubs, among them Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Newcastle, while Italian giants Juventus have repeatedly been reported to have scouts to watch the England U21 international, who is contracted to the Blues until the summer of 2029.

Last week, McKenna insisted that Town had no intention of selling the one-time Derby County academy schoolboy and that Portman Road is the best place for him to learn his trade.

“I think when you're a goalscorer, you're always going to stand out a little bit more,” McKenna said, considering the attention Delap is getting with the likes of Leif Davis, Omari Hutchinson and Jacob Greaves also having made strong starts to their Premier League careers.

“And the style of player that Liam is as well. I won't say he’s unique because there are a few more in the Premier League at the moment as well, physical centre forwards, but maybe over the last five or six years in the Premier League they haven't been falling off the trees.

“I think people are enjoying watching him play. We're enjoying working with him. He's still got lots to do and lots to come. He's still learning. We still have to be patient with him. We still have to manage him as well as we possibly can. This is his first season starting in men's football week in and week out as a centre forward, and he's doing that in the Premier League.

“He's doing well, we're enjoying working with him and it's nice that people are enjoying watching him play. But our focus and his focus is on trying to keep improving, and he can get every little bit out of the potential that he's got.”

Quizzed on how far the striker might progress in the game, McKenna added: “I think you can tell what his ceiling might be. I think it's clear. I think he can play at the highest levels of the game, there's no doubt about that, and I don't think he's the only one we have in the squad who has that.

“But there's a big difference at 21 years of age between your ceiling and the reality of where you're going to hit. There are a lot of things that can come into play, some that you can control and some that you can't control.

“For us and for Liam, it's about hitting all the ones that we can control: how he trains, how he lives, how he learns, how he works, and maximising everything he can from them. And if he does that, then it's clear. If he stays lucky, then he's got really, really high potential.”

Photo: Reuters

grow_our_own added 17:21 - Dec 2 That as may be, but he's missed a sitter and taken a goal off his team-mates' toe in the game and a half. Just hope he stays humble and doesn't believe the hype.
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