Liverpool are reportedly set to vie with a Premier League rival for a player who’s currently active in the English top flight.
The Reds’ forward line could be in for a significant reshuffle over the summer, with Mo Salah’s future still to be sorted out and Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota both linked with potential exits, while rumours of a possible move for Alexander Isak remain persistent as ever.
It appears that the Newcastle hitman isn’t the only centre-forward in the division who’s of interest to the Anfield hierarchy.
Liverpool plotting potential transfer hijack for Liam Delap
According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool are poised to compete with Chelsea for the signature of Liam Delap, with Ipswich unlikely to be able to keep hold of the striker if – as seems increasingly probable – they’re relegated from the Premier League.
It’s claimed that the 22-year-old ‘ticks all the boxes’ for Anfield chiefs, who’ve made contact to try and ascertain his plans for the future and view him as a viable centre-forward option for Arne Slot.
The asking price for the England under-21 striker – whose father Rory was a Premier League cult hero in the 2000s, famed for his exceptional long throw-in ability – is set at around £40m, but this figure could rise if he finished the season strongly and if competition for his signing intensifies.
Delap has outshone many of Liverpool’s forwards this term
Despite Ipswich being the top flight’s third-lowest scorers this season – their return of 28 goals is only one more than Mo Salah on his own – Delap has still reached double figures, with his tally of 10 accounting for 35.7% of the entire scoring output at Portman Road.
Among Liverpool’s squad, only the Egyptian has netted more often than the 22-year-old in the league this term. Even when all competitions are included, just three Reds players surpass the ex-Manchester City youngster’s haul, and that trio doesn’t feature Jota or Darwin Nunez (Transfermarkt).
Isak would obviously be the dream centre-forward signing for LFC in the summer, but if he proves to be out of reach at a likely fee of £80m+, then Ipswich’s number 19 could be worthy of consideration as a lower-cost alternative.
If we’re to lose the likes of Salah, Diaz and Jota in the next few months, the need for instant replacements to be brought in would intensify greatly. Delap has proven that he can score frequently in the Premier League, and an exit from Ipswich seems more than plausible if they’re unable to stave off relegation.
It’ll be interesting to see if rumours linking him with a potential move to Anfield have the same longevity to them as those relating to Newcastle’s Swedish striker.
