Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton has claimed that the club are “well protected” from the outcome regarding the striker Liam Delap.
The Tractor Boys will hope to keep their faint hopes of Premier League survival alive by beating Bournemouth on Wednesday, though with the gap to 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers nine points, it is difficult to see that points difference shrinking give there are just nine matchweeks remaining.
Boss Kieran McKenna has earned praise for taking the Blues to the top flight, but relegation to the Championship could lead to the exits of numerous players.
While striker Delap has often been linked with a move to Manchester United, Ipswich chairman Ashton has insisted that the Blues are prepared for the future, telling the East Anglian Daily Times: “What I can say is that in January there was interest in a number of our players from a number of Premier League clubs. But ownership were great, it was ‘you don’t have to sell‘.
“Obviously there is always a natural point in time when a player has to move. That’s the cycle of life, it’s the cycle of football. But we are very, very, very well protected with all of that.”
The 22-year-old striker reportedly has several admirers, and former club Manchester City are also rumoured to have an option to sign him in the summer.
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Can Ipswich cope without Delap?
Ipswich have only managed to score 27 goals in the Premier League this season, with Delap finding the back of the net 10 times while also providing two assists.
Sammie Szmodics is the team’s next highest goalscorer having netted four times in the league, but it is difficult to say that the club can rely on him moving forward given he is 29 years old.
However, it should be noted that the team still have Omari Hutchinson, Nathan Broadhead and Conor Chaplin in the squad, with all three scoring at least 10 goals in the Championship in 2023-24.
While the likes of Hutchinson could leave Ipswich in the summer, McKenna may still be able to call upon experienced attackers in the second tier.
Even if the Blues did lose Delap, the transfer fee they would receive from his sale would allow them to reinvest in the squad, and potentially beat other sides like Middlesbrough to the signing of Wycombe Wanderers striker Richard Kone.
Ipswich may face problems if any of the teams that earn promotion from the Championship to the Premier League this season look to poach their transfer targets, but the Tractor Boys will likely still be an attractive destination considering McKenna’s track record at Portman Road.
