Ipswich Town have signed forward, Liam Delap from Manchester City for £20m.
Delap’s move comes after he spent the last two seasons on loan at Stoke, Preston and Hull in which he managed 12 goals in total across 70 appearances for the three Championship clubs.
The 21 yea-old previously netted one goal in six senior appearances for City across 2020-21 & 21-22 seasons, with his only goal for Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens having came on his first-team debut against Bournemouth in September 2020 in that season’s Carabao Cup.
City this summer decided to move Delap on and accepted a £20m offer from Ipswich, compromising of initial £15m fee, plus £5m in add-ons followed by a sell-on clause of 20% plus a buy-back clause included in the deal.
Speaking to TownTV about his move to Portman Road, Delap spoke highly of the club’s atmosphere and enjoyable style of play.
“I have heard so many good things about the feeling around the Club, and how the players and staff work. That’s exactly why I’m excited to be here.
“The Manager here likes to play exciting football. It’s quick and intense and I am looking forward to that. I want to bring goals and assists and I’ll work as hard as I can to help the team.”
Ipswich Manager, Kieran McKenna added: “We think he is a player with the qualities to help the team this season but also to be an important player for the Club for many years to come.
“He is a player with outstanding physical and technical attributes who has a hunger to come here and continue to learn and improve. He has gained good first-team experience from a young age and we feel he has the potential for development here.”
Delap began his career as part of Derby’s youth academy until City signed him in 2019, and the youngster was part of England’s title-winning Under-19s Euros squad in 2022.
Ipswich also signed defender, Jacob Greaves – Delap’s former teammate at Hull – for £18m and the 23 year-old is “absolutely delighted to have signed,” on a five-year contract until June 2029 as he explained to TownTV.
“As soon as I heard about the interest, I was keen to get the move over the line. Now that it’s done I am really happy.
“I’ve spoken to the Kieran several times and those conversations have made me very excited for the future here. We spoke about tactics, playing style and life off the pitch and every time we’ve spoken it’s been spot on.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to step up to the Premier League and I cannot wait to get started.”
McKenna added: “We are delighted to have brought Jacob to the Club and are excited to have him as part of the squad.
“He is a very talented, technical and athletic left-sided defender who has performed very well in the Championship and is ready to make the step up to the Premier League at this point in his career.
“We feel this is the right environment and club for him to do that in and he is a good character who will bring qualities to the group and culture we have built here.”
Leave a Reply