Manchester United are reportedly in pole position to sign Blues striker Liam Delap in the summer.

Delap, 22, has a relegation release clause in the contract he signed after joining the Blues for an initial £15 million from Manchester City in July last year which means he can depart Portman Road for £30 million in the close season.

Chelsea and United were among the first to make their interest in the England U21 international known but with Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Newcastle United, Everton and Nottingham Forest all now having joined them as decision time approaches.

According to Sky Sports, Delap would be happy to join the Red Devils this summer with Champions League qualification via a Europa League win potentially giving their case a boost when he ultimately makes his choice.

We understand there are indeed some in Delap’s camp who favour a move to United, however, the player himself is still open-minded on his destination but with an exit from Town all but certain.

Delap has scored 12 goals for the Blues this season, his first Premier League campaign.

Photo: Matchday Images

Vancouver_Blue added 18:29 - May 13 Career suicide
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leftie1972 added 18:35 - May 13 Don’t do it Liam!
2

MickMillsTash added 18:35 - May 13 The new Gary Birtles ?
2

BobbyBell added 18:36 - May 13 It could prove to be too soon. I hope not for Liam's sake but I think he could end up with a lot more bench time and a lot less playing time. This lad needs to play regularly to be the best that he can be.
8

blueprint added 18:36 - May 13 Get it done so we can all move on quickly. Don’t want another dragged out affair like McKenna last season.
16

floridaboy added 18:40 - May 13 If he moves anywhere next season he will be a benchwarmer! Still has an awful lot to learn about playing alone up front. Still if a club is happy to pay £30m and pay him the salary he is reportly after - around £100k a week then he will go and sit on a bench! Still think Hirst has more to offer so long as he stays fit.
11

tractorboybig added 18:44 - May 13 anyone who thinks he is staying here is deluded
6

Fozrat70 added 18:57 - May 13 To me it is almost certain that he will leave in the closed season but I would like to urge him to speak with others first who have moved maybe too soon (Richard Wright springs to mind). I know a footballers career can be a short one but with time on his side would another year with us really be that bad of an option who knows maybe it would even increase his value if he demolishes most defences in the championship and scores a shed full of goals

5

marinermyhero added 19:00 - May 13 Send him on loan there for a season and if we return he's still our player but if we don't return then the team has got the first option to buy him
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cressi added 19:01 - May 13 Get it done and sorted lose Ali and get 2 strikers in to complement Hirst. Get 80% of our business done early bed them in.
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Widj123 added 19:02 - May 13 Rats leaving a sinking ship possibly
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OldFart71 added 19:13 - May 13 Over the years there have been many players who jump ship at the first opportunity a sad case of that has to be Kalvin Phillips, a star at Leeds and a broken man at City. Trying and in many respects failing to revive his career at a newly promoted club. If he goes to Man Utd I wish him well. But as with Rasmus H it's an awful lot of responsibility on young shoulders. Many bigger stars than Liam have tried and failed. For Utd £30 million is small change if you compare that against the likes of Pogba at £90 million and even if Delap turned into a moderate success it wouldn't be that difficult to recoup the money selling to another newly promoted club.

4

ChestnutSe added 19:16 - May 13 Good buy for United and goodbye from Town. Would be a great move for Delap and would set him up for life. Who can blame him. He’s only one tackle away from a career ending injury and he needs to cash in while he is such hot property. I’m just glad we had him here for one season. I suspect he would still be with us if we hadn’t got relegated. It’s good business for Town with a 100% profit on the £15m we spent. It’s a pity that relegation clause was there as we could probably have got more without it but I guess we wouldn’t have been able to sign him without it. It will be a great advert for Town when they look to sign the next up and coming star. “Come to Town and the sky is the limit for you, look at Delap”

22

Tractorog added 19:18 - May 13 Man Utd obviously have a massive fan base with good and bad fans, but the culture if the club under the Glaziers has descended into a place where very few can really survive with their ego intact. He's a young player who will make mistakes and as soon as he doesn't score for a few games the pressure from media and fans will tare most players appart. Liam is a strong lad with a big ego, but he'd be smarter avoiding the place. He should have other options.

3

ArnieM added 19:18 - May 13 Lol, Bigger fool him if he goes to that basket case of a club. And he won't be the 1st choice striker.
4

johnwarksshorts added 19:24 - May 13 I think he will definitely leave town, but I don't think Man U would be right club for him. There are so many problems there at the moment. I think Newcastle would be a better fit for him. More in the mold of Shearer. If he can score 12 goals for bottom 3 club think how many he'd get for a club in top half.
10

WaltonBlueNaze added 19:54 - May 13 Good luck to him…..I think at the moment Man Utd is a sink or swim club….so let’s hope he is swimming!
1

ringwoodblue added 19:54 - May 13 Man Utd are a joke team at the moment but they will rise again. Not sure it will be as a result of Delap joining them but I wish him good luck cos he’s gonna need it if he goes there.
0

Linkboy13 added 20:55 - May 13 No problems with Delap moving but i don't think Man United is the right club for him. Everton have been rumoured to be interested this would be a good move for him but it sounds like he's going for the best financial deal. Perhaps Man Utd could loan him back to us.
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NickITFC added 21:02 - May 13 RIP Liam Delap's career. Absolutely inevitable he is moving however could he join a worse team right now? They are literally the most rotten club inside and out in the world right now...
3

victorysquad added 21:06 - May 13 This is all rather unedifying. Watching players negotiate their next clubs after taking us down is not a great watch, lets hope they have the decorum to get this done as quickly as possible.
5

blueboy1981 added 21:23 - May 13 Some of you are Sick - if you cannot see Delap is Prem’ Quality right NOW - then you haven’t a clue what you’re watching, you’re also Sick in inadvertently not wishing him well. He is Quality, and ITFC and the Championship will be of not even remote interest to Delap next season. Neither will now help his career - we had the chance of keeping him, but RELEGATION blew that away ! Bit different atmosphere at and around the Club than this time in 2024. Oh what an awful difference a year makes ? Anyone looking forward to another Championship Grind, are either totally deluded, or just kidding themselves - as they’ll realise soon enough !

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poet added 21:25 - May 13 This is hardly a surprise, but I’d say leaving for Manchester Utd would be a mistake. I’d also say, that every other club that has been reported to have an interest in him, are a far safer bet. The only club that is of importance to us, is of course ITFC…. Bank the 30 million and say goodbye and thank you. He’s done well, 12 goals is a very good haul considering our final position. However, in my opinion, he’s far from being the finished article, he won’t get the opportunities to showcase himself like he would with Town, and he won’t get such good quality coaching. Whatever he decides will be his risk, not ours. Time to move on.

4

Lightningboy added 21:33 - May 13 He may go on to be one of the finest strikers this country has ever seen but at times he's been like a cart horse since Christmas...and he needs to learn how to pass to his team mates. Cash in asap and get another striker in early summer to back up Hirsty.
8

itfc2024 added 21:35 - May 13 sorry blueboy1981 he's not premiership quality he's done ok in a poor team but since christmas has done nothing id take the 30 million and get rid cos I don't think the hype he gets is worth it and theirs a few in the team I can say that about but won't Hirst if he stays fit is a better all round player than delap more of a team player where delap is greedy and not a team player whatsoever

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