Former striker Gary Lineker has urged Arsenal to beat Premier League rivals in the race to sign Ipswich Town forward Liam Delap.
After coming through Manchester City’s youth system, the forward went out on loan to a few Championship clubs before signing permanently for The Tractor Boys last summer.
Upon moving to Portman Road Stadium, the 22-year-old has displayed promising performances in the Premier League this season despite his team’s struggles. In 25 league starts, the youngster has scored 10 goals and registered two assists this season.
Delap’s eye-catching displays this season haven’t gone unnoticed as he has been attracting the attention of a few big English clubs with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur among those to have registered their interest.
Now, speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker told Arsenal to beat their Premier League rivals to sign Delap. In an argument for this claim, the former forward says that the Ipswich star makes good movement around the box and has scored many goals for a struggling team so he could be able to do better for the Gunners.
Delap to Arsenal
He said:
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“If I were them [Arsenal], I’d go for [Liam] Delap at Ipswich Town. Yeah, he is young and not entirely proven, but he’s scored quite a lot of goals in the Premier League this season for a team that’s obviously struggled having been promoted last season in Ipswich. I like his movement.”
The Englishman – valued at around £21m by Transfermarkt – still has four and a half years left in his current contract. But, Ipswich might be forced to cash-in on him in a cut-price deal if they fail to keep their top-flight status.
Delap is a highly talented player and possesses the potential to become a top-class striker in future. However, he is still very young and needs time to reach his full potential.
Arsenal have established themselves as title challengers and they need an experienced centre forward to finally win the Premier League. So, even if the Gunners opt to hire him by listening to Lineker’s advice, they should go and sign a more proven striker.
It remains to be seen whether the North London club will eventually make a concrete approach to lure him to the Emirates Stadium in the upcoming transfer window.
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