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Manchester United should prioritise a move for Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap this summer because a new number nine “has to come in” this summer, according to Paul Parker.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Peoples Person, courtesy of Betano, the former United defender is adamant the club needs to secure head coach Ruben Amorim a new striker or the struggles the Red Devils have endured this season will continue.
“A new number nine has to come if Amorim is to go forward as a manager. [INEOS] need to give him a striker to work with, it’s as simple as that. Someone needs to deliver him a striker and then that takes away any excuses on that end.”
Striker’s Struggles
Only five teams in the Premier League have scored fewer times than United this campaign – West Ham, Everton, Ipswich, Leicester City and Southampton – with the team’s inability to score goals almost perfectly correlating with their place in the table, 14th.
The club’s current striking partnership of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have combined for just six league goals – three apiece – with neither player looking capable of leading the line at Old Trafford. As such, Parker observes, a new striker who is “hungry to play for a big club” is needed; one who embraces the pressure of a club like United, rather than shies away from it.
And while the Reds have been linked with blockbuster deals for the two Victors – Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres – there will be a long line of suitors across Europe for both forwards, with a transfer fee in excess of £60 million for either player.
United’s finances are unlikely to stretch that far without the prospect of Champions League football next season, which remains a possibility through success in the Europa League. Irrespective, Parker believes the club should look domestically, rather than to the continent, when recruiting a new number this summer.
“I would look at Liam Delap. I don’t think [the price] would be excessive and you’re getting a wholehearted player with quality. He’s had a good football education at Man City, he’s had a great season for a struggling team,” the Premier League winning defender reveals.
Deadly Delap
Delap, 22, has scored 12 times for Ipswich in 32 league games, while providing another two assists. He’s also demonstrated a well-rounded game, capable of occupying defenders and holding up the ball, or spinning in behind and progressing play through his impressive ball-carrying skills.
Given the Tractor Boys have scored even less than United this season, 12 goals represents an impressive return for a striker playing in a struggling side in his first season at this level; especially given his potential competitors at Old Trafford have combined for half that amount.
The Englishman’s form has put the country’s top sides on red-alert with Delap’s contract at Portman Road containing a £30 million release clause if (when) Ipswich are relegated. As a result, “half of the Premier League” are reported to be chasing the 22-year-old’s signature this summer, with United believed to be right at the front of the queue – a move Parker supports.
“Liam Delap is the one I would go with. He’s hungry to prove a point, hungry to play for a big club. Everyone’s been talking about him, but the way he’s conducted himself tells me this lad is decent.
“He gives everything when he plays; yes he might be playing to get himself out of the club, but he still plays like he needs his teammates. He’s not trying to do it all on his own.”
Furthermore, Parker believes Delap has the personality to wear the Red shirt, in a way which both Hojlund and Zirkzee have often looked overwhelmed by. “It’s a great time to go to Manchester United if you’ve got a fire in your belly and a big heart, because you can go and prove yourself – it’s a bigger story, and [Delap] has got that about him,” the 61-year-old concludes.
Given INEOS have initiated a recruitment shift towards younger players with more affordable transfer fees and wage packets, a £30 million raid on a (soon to be) relegated side for a 22-year-old homegrown goal-scorer with the physical and mental qualities to thrive in English football appears a no-brainer.
United’s former flying fullback certainly thinks so anyways.
Featured image Stephen Pond via Getty Images
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