How Ipswich striker Liam Delap became Man United's top transfer target

Manchester United utilized to acceptable the benchmark for large strikers. Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Eric Cantona, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Robin van Persie -- it's a agelong database of formidable extremity scorers, but 1 that is present a fading representation obscured by a succession of costly misfits who person tried and failed to articulation that elite database successful caller years.

At 22, it would beryllium a large situation for Liam Delap to beryllium himself a worthy successor to immoderate of Old Trafford's astir iconic centre-forwards, but the Ipswich Town striker is the club's favoured summertime people due to the fact that helium has the imaginable to bash so.

Sources person told ESPN that United person placed Delap, who could beryllium disposable for a transportation interest of £40 cardinal if Ipswich are relegated this summer, up of Sporting CP's Viktor Gyökeres, RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko and Victor Osimhen, who is connected indebtedness astatine Galatasaray from Napoli, successful their database of imaginable attacking reinforcements.

In his archetypal afloat run successful the Premier League this season, Delap has scored 12 goals successful 30 appearances for an Ipswich squad playing successful the top-flight for the archetypal clip since 2002. He has shown pace, carnal beingness and the quality pb the attacking enactment and Kieran McKenna's squad person besides benefited from Delap being capable to clasp the shot up and supply a level for Ipswich's midfielders and wingers, arsenic good arsenic displaying the alternate skillset of turning his marker and creating his ain efforts connected goal.

Delap's attributes carnivore similarities to those of a young Alan Shearer, who remains the Premier League's all-time starring extremity scorer with 260 goals for Blackburn and Newcastle. And, with United and Chelsea present emerging arsenic rivals for Delap's signature this summer, Shearer said past week that the erstwhile Manchester City youngster has what it takes to marque it to the top.

"Big clubs volition beryllium looking astatine him [Delap], due to the fact that I deliberation he's got thing astir him," Shearer told Betfair. "He's got an arrogance astir him, which I truly similar and he's got an aura. He's already been linked with a fig of clubs successful the Premier League and looking astatine who he's been linked with, I deliberation helium tin spell successful and bid a starting role. He's amended than thing Man Utd person got up front. He's besides amended than thing Chelsea person got up front, truthful the reply is elemental - yes, helium would commencement for those clubs."

United's way grounds of signing strikers since Sir Alex Ferguson persuaded Arsenal to offload Van Persie successful a £24m transportation successful August 2012 has been abject, with the nine lurching from short-term signings -- Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani -- to inexperienced youngsters including Anthony Martial [who is present astatine AEK Athens], Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee. Panic January indebtedness moves person besides resulted successful deals for Odion Ighalo and Wout Weghorst.

Aside from the £75m signing of Romelu Lukaku from Everton successful July 2017, United person not acquired a guardant astatine his highest since Van Persie. Lukaku's instrumentality of 42 goals successful 96 appearances present looks exceptional arsenic the years person passed, but the Belgium guardant was moved connected by the nine aft 2 seasons and they person made mistake aft mistake ever since.

This is wherefore the summer's striker pursuit is truthful crucial. If United are to erstwhile again situation for the large trophies, they indispensable motion a reliable extremity scorer.

Having scored conscionable 37 goals successful 31 league games truthful acold this play -- Sunday's 0-0 gully against City astatine Old Trafford was the 12th clip United failed to people successful a Premier League crippled during this run -- United volition acceptable a caller grounds for their lowest goals tally successful the Premier League epoch by eclipsing the existing debased of 54 goals successful the 2016-17 if they neglect to people astatine slightest 17 goals successful their remaining 7 fixtures.

Højlund, a £64m signing from Atalanta successful August 2023, has scored 3 league goals this play and registered lone 1 extremity successful his past 24 games each competitions, portion Zirkzee has besides netted 3 league goals since arriving from Bologna successful a £36.5m transportation past summer.

United's deficiency of attacking menace was identified by the club's scouting team, headed by method manager Jason Wilcox, who brought Delap done the City Academy, and manager of recruitment Christopher Vivell, anterior to Amorim's accomplishment successful spot of the sacked Erik 10 Hag past November.

With a deficiency of disposable options during the January transportation model and a request to trim the wage bill, the nine focused connected offloading out-of-favour forwards Marcus Rashford and Antony connected indebtedness deals to Aston Villa and Real Betis respectively -- a determination which has near Amorim's squad since desperately abbreviated of attacking options.

But sources person told ESPN that the signing of a caller striker, preferably Delap, coupled with the instrumentality to fittingness of winger Amad Diallo and improvement of 17-year-old striker Chido Obi (who signed connected a escaped transportation from Arsenal), volition springiness the squad the cutting borderline it has lacked.

play

1:46

Dawson: Man United are the champion nine successful the satellite astatine talking, not doing

Rob Dawson tells "The Football Reporters' podcast that Manchester United fans won't beryllium blessed with the absorption of the nine until there's existent grounds of change.

With a €100m merchandise clause successful Gyökeres' declaration astatine Sporting, the outgo of pursuing the 26-year-old is regarded arsenic prohibitive by United. He was a important fig successful Sporting's rubric occurrence successful Portugal nether Amorim past season, scoring 50 goals successful each competitions and backing it up with 43 goals truthful acold this season, but the imaginable interest and a mediocre way grounds of strikers moving from the Portuguese league to the Premier League -- United abandoned involvement successful Darwin Núñez for the aforesaid crushed erstwhile helium near Benfica for a €75m determination to Liverpool successful 2022 -- has diminished involvement successful the Sweden international.

Amorim rates him highly, but with the fee, concerns implicit his quality to win successful England and apt involvement from Champions League clubs, Gyökeres is not a precedence target. Similar doubts implicit outgo and Premier League compatibility besides bent implicit Sesko and Osimhen.

But Gyökeres' attributes, which are astir identical to Delap's, underscore the illustration of what Amorim wants from his centre-forward successful his favoured 3-4-3 enactment and neither Højlund oregon Zirkzee conscionable the coach's requirements.

Amorim wants a carnal presence, but besides a striker with the quality to flight his marker and clasp the shot up, depending connected circumstances. Delap fits the measure and would outgo fractional of what Sporting would expect for Gyökeres.

United privation semipermanent worth and an instant impact. It is simply a hard equilibrium to strike, arsenic they person repeatedly discovered to their cost. But close now, Delap is showing that helium could connection both.