Summer 2025 Transfer Thread / Rumours

[shabba]

Ah damm! Agree that’s good work from the agent.

Someone may punt on him for 35m but I wouldn’t see him as that good value at that price personally. He has potential for sure and love him - but still.

[Charnwood]

I’d hang onto as many of our current squad as we can, we have some of last seasons best players in the Championship and shouldn’t need to spend much money at all.

I’d keep,

Palmer, Walton & Slicker
Tuanzebe, Davis, Townsend, H.Clarke, O’Shea, Burgess, Woolfie & Greaves
Morsy, Cajuste (if possible), Taylor, Chaplin, J.Clarke, Philogene, Hutchinson & Humphrey’s
Enciso (if possible), Hirst, Broadhead & Szmodics.

In my opinion that would be a more than decent Championship squad of 23 players.

For each one that leaves or doesn’t sign we would need to find an equal or better replacement. I certainly don’t think we need a complete overhaul but it’s inevitable there will be a few leavers that will need replacing.

Most likely leavers will obviously be Liam Delap and our loanee’s. Cajuste, Enciso and Phillips. It looks like Cameron Burgess is off to Spain but I’m hopeful Hutchinson will give us one more season. Whilst I thought we’d bag a decent fee for Leif Davis I think having been found out in the Oremier League his value will have dropped considerably. As for the rest I don’t see any Premier League club wanting any of them so they may as well stay where they are unless the club decides to offload them which won’t be achieved easily given their most likely contracts.

[shabba]

Slight side topic but I was thinking about Enciso, I wonder where he will end up next season?

As I see it…

- he is still developing so Brighton won’t sell
- not ready for their first team given the options they have
- another loan - but he is prem quality so likely stay there
- not sure they’d loan to a direct rival, so maybe one of the promoted clubs, or an Everton, wolves - can’t think who else would fit?

[ITFC2024]

Question regarding Delap’s 30-mil release clause. If several teams are coveting Delap, could it turn into a bidding war and could that raise his price? And, would we benefit if his price goes up, or would ManShitty get the profit?

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

Question regarding Delap’s 30-mil release clause. If several teams are coveting Delap, could it turn into a bidding war and could that raise his price? And, would we benefit if his price goes up, or would ManShitty get the profit?

It could raise his price, but probably not. At the end of the day, he will have a preferred club - we can't tell him which club to join based on what they offer for him, the decision is ultimately his. So no club in their right mind is going to offer more than what is in the release clause.
As I understand it, Man C are entitled to 20% of any profit we make on him.

[shabba]

So basically any club could bid 30m, even 100 clubs could bid 30m and all bids have to be accepted. Then it’s down to the player to choose based on contract negotiations.

The catch is the 30m has to be paid upfront in one go. Clubs usually stagger the payment of transfer fees so in theory the price could go up a tad if a club said ‘look we will pay 35m if you allow us to pay over 3 years’. Club can then decide to accept or eject that as it’s not the default 30m.

What usually happens here is the player is in a strong position to command good wages/deceent signing fee - if many clubs are fighting for them and have met the clause then it’s the sweetener they can offer to convince the player to join them over another.

[shabba]

Not sure how reputable this source is

https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/tr ... eres-offer

Saying Arsenal want Delap, as backup.

[Charnwood]

As I understand there were a host of clubs trying to sign Delap last summer including some established Premier League clubs where most likely he would have spent most of his time on the bench. Had City known Haarland would spend much of the season injured I’m sure they would have kept him.
Delaps agent was pretty clever as were Ipswich, together they created a situation where the player would get plenty of game time to put himself in the shop window with a win win situation whatever happened to our season.
If we stayed in the Premier League the player remained ours and the release clause wouldn’t have been triggered and I suspect Liam’s wages would have increased as would his value. Whilst if we got relegated he was free to go for £30m of which we pocket £8m profit and save his significant salary cost from our wage bill. This meant signing him for £20m was no risk to either ITFC or the player, unlike some of our other players who’s value’s will have dropped significantly, eg Muric and a few others.
What hasn’t been considered yet, is if Delap is confident Town could go straight back to the Premier League and he could play a big part in that with lots of game time, he could develop faster under McKenna than elsewhere at a big club where his game time might be limited.
I wouldn’t want to place money on where he will start next season, but wherever that is this guy has a great future and will earn a lot more than his dad did.

[Bluemike]

Spot on Andy, I would love him to stay, alas I think there is little to no chance of that happening, money and agents seem to talk, you get the odd level headed lad that is guided correctly but they seem few and far between.

He's been bigged up by outsiders as a future England player which will probably happen, however it rarely happens unless you play in the Premier League. For me he's been the only Town player to really come out of this season with any real credit, maybe Cajuste at times and as such I'm disappointed we probably have just Three games left to watch him in a Town shirt.

As you say he has a great future ahead of him once he has matured and widened his game, McKenna would have been the ideal boss to work under while still playing regularly. If there is any truth in Delap and Slicker being "a thing" it could make his decision just that little bit tougher but I see him as being away this summer. We'll sure as hell need to replace him with a goalscorer.

[Shed on tour]

I’m resigned to Delap going, my one hope is it is concluded pretty quickly in the transfer window and doesn’t drag on.

[shabba]

I heard he is 'only' on £20k PW, which is actually pretty low for Premier league - where the average is now a staggering £67k!

[hallamblue]

Question regarding Delap’s 30-mil release clause. If several teams are coveting Delap, could it turn into a bidding war and could that raise his price? And, would we benefit if his price goes up, or would ManShitty get the profit?

It could raise his price, but probably not. At the end of the day, he will have a preferred club - we can't tell him which club to join based on what they offer for him, the decision is ultimately his. So no club in their right mind is going to offer more than what is in the release clause.
As I understand it, Man C are entitled to 20% of any profit we make on him.

Delap has a release clause of £30M . That's it . No club is going to offer more to speak to him and they dont even have to speak to us as I understand it . The release clause negates all of that . So this is why there is a clamour from all the big PL clubs to speak to Delap. Hes effectively dirt cheap, and has great potential. All the balls are in his and his agents court to negotiate the best deal from any of his suitors. We under-estimated how well he'd do this season and have (despite on paper doubling our outlay) actually lost out on a far, bigger fee.

The negotiating section of ITFC needs to up its game considerably , because I think we paid over the odds for some basic raw talent (Philogene?) and are getting a poor return of others Dealp / Omari.

PS good to see TB's back up and running ...

[Bluemike]

And yet Ashton said we are very well protected where Delap is concerned, I'd like to see how

[hallamblue]

just seen this on bbc news website


Arsenal make offer to sign Liam Delap, the Gunners hope to extend William Saliba's contract, and Emiliano Martinez's future at Aston Villa could be in doubt.

Arsenal have made an offer to the representatives of Ipswich's English striker Liam Delap, 22, as they seek to sign a supporting forward alongside a more experienced and proven option. (Football Transfers)

[hallamblue]

Not sure how reputable this source is

https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/tr ... eres-offer

Saying Arsenal want Delap, as backup.

This is the problem he will have if he goes to a so called Big Club...hell be on the bench ...

[shabba]

Yeah but in today’s game that might be ok, still would get plenty of game time / sub apps, cups, covering injuries etc.

He probably isn’t ready to lead the line for a top ten side right now but has alot of potential.

[AzzurroMark]

Delap has a release clause of £30M . That's it . No club is going to offer more to speak to him and they dont even have to speak to us as I understand it . The release clause negates all of that . So this is why there is a clamour from all the big PL clubs to speak to Delap. Hes effectively dirt cheap, and has great potential. All the balls are in his and his agents court to negotiate the best deal from any of his suitors. We under-estimated how well he'd do this season and have (despite on paper doubling our outlay) actually lost out on a far, bigger fee.

The negotiating section of ITFC needs to up its game considerably , because I think we paid over the odds for some basic raw talent (Philogene?) and are getting a poor return of others Dealp / Omari.

Of course there's the saying 'no smoke without fire'! This £30m release clause may be widely bandied about, but if you throw enough mud at something, eventually it will stick! There will be very few people who will actually know the 'ins & outs' of Delap's contract, and those who do must surely be bound to keep the terms quiet or be in breach of it?
I'm not paying too much attention to all this talk, and while even £30m seems in effect a pretty high sum, I will be a tad disappointed if Liam goes for that amount. It was like the KM speculation last summer, I told a few people at work that I felt quietly confident that Keiran would be in charge of Ipswich at the start of the season! Although seemingly unlikely, I wouldn't bet against Delap putting on an Ipswich shirt next season!

[shabba]

Delap has a release clause of £30M . That's it . No club is going to offer more to speak to him and they dont even have to speak to us as I understand it . The release clause negates all of that . So this is why there is a clamour from all the big PL clubs to speak to Delap. Hes effectively dirt cheap, and has great potential. All the balls are in his and his agents court to negotiate the best deal from any of his suitors. We under-estimated how well he'd do this season and have (despite on paper doubling our outlay) actually lost out on a far, bigger fee.

The negotiating section of ITFC needs to up its game considerably , because I think we paid over the odds for some basic raw talent (Philogene?) and are getting a poor return of others Dealp / Omari.

Of course there's the saying 'no smoke without fire'! This £30m release clause may be widely bandied about, but if you throw enough mud at something, eventually it will stick! There will be very few people who will actually know the 'ins & outs' of Delap's contract, and those who do must surely be bound to keep the terms quiet or be in breach of it?
I'm not paying too much attention to all this talk, and while even £30m seems in effect a pretty high sum, I will be a tad disappointed if Liam goes for that amount. It was like the KM speculation last summer, I told a few people at work that I felt quietly confident that Keiran would be in charge of Ipswich at the start of the season! Although seemingly unlikely, I wouldn't bet against Delap putting on an Ipswich shirt next season!

Agent will know, won't be overall difficult for that info to get out there - and spread. Happens all the time.

[hallamblue]

EADT is reporting that Delap favours move to Man Utd. If true, he deserves all he gets from that lol. Of all the clubs he could join they'd be the last one I'd suggest. Absolute basket case of a club.

[hallamblue]

EADT is reporting that Delap favours move to Man Utd. If true, he deserves all he gets from that lol. Of all the clubs he could join they'd be the last one I'd suggest. Absolute basket case of a club.

Here's the article:

Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap reportedly favours a move to Premier League giants Manchester United.

The 22-year-old, who moved to Portman Road from Manchester City last summer, has bagged 12 goals and two assists for the Blues so far this season.

However, with relegation confirmed, it's widely understood that a £30m release clause is now active, making a summer departure incredibly likely.

Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund are among the many teams who have been linked with a move for Delap already, but TalkSPORT have claimed that Chelsea and Man United are the frontrunners to acquire his signature, with Old Trafford his most likely destination.

The report claims that Delap is keen to return to the North West, especially if Ruben Amorim's side win the Europa League, which would secure Champions League qualification for next season.

The Red Devils currently sit 16th in the Premier League table, having picked up 39 points with a record of 10 wins, nine draws and 17 defeats.

Alex's verdict

There's no point in discussing this from an Ipswich perspective too much. Delap's departure is an inevitability, it's just about where he's going to go.

There are plenty of options for him, and the reported £30m relegation release clause makes it much easier for buying clubs. Man United and Chelsea have probably been the two most consistent links when it comes to him.

There are obvious concerns about going to Old Trafford. The Red Devils have been in appalling form in the league, with clear on-field and off-field issues. That being said, they are still one of the biggest clubs in the world. That will be an allure for anyone, especially a young striker with dreams of playing at the top level.

Should they win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League, this move would make a lot of sense, but there would be huge pressure on his shoulders. Would he thrive in that environment, or would he be better off at a club where the expectations aren't unrealistically high?

In the end, you couldn't blame him if he decided to join them, especially if he wants to move back to the North West.

[ITFC2024]

EADT is reporting that Delap favours move to Man Utd. If true, he deserves all he gets from that lol. Of all the clubs he could join they'd be the last one I'd suggest. Absolute basket case of a club.

I wouldn’t be surprised if McKenna follows him because it’s just a matter of time before Amorim gets fired.

[hallamblue]

I'm past caring if the manager goes now tbh. Delap is " potential" only at this moment in time. I fit care where he goes either, because he'll be a bench warmer wherever he ends up.

[shabba]

EADT is reporting that Delap favours move to Man Utd. If true, he deserves all he gets from that lol. Of all the clubs he could join they'd be the last one I'd suggest. Absolute basket case of a club.

I wouldn’t be surprised if McKenna follows him because it’s just a matter of time before Amorim gets fired.

Said it so many times, KM won’t go anywhere this summer. Nobody is paying £15m to get him out of his contract.

[ITFC2024]

EADT is reporting that Delap favours move to Man Utd. If true, he deserves all he gets from that lol. Of all the clubs he could join they'd be the last one I'd suggest. Absolute basket case of a club.

I wouldn’t be surprised if McKenna follows him because it’s just a matter of time before Amorim gets fired.

Said it so many times, KM won’t go anywhere this summer. Nobody is paying £15m to get him out of his contract.

Is 15-mil McKenna’s release clause? Where did you read that?

[shabba]

It’s my understanding that with managers if a another club wants them they need to buy out the contract - KM I believe has three years left on a 5m PA deal, naturally that might have dropped with any relegation wage clause.

It works well for the manager too as the club have to pay out the fee if they sack them, unless a ‘mutual agreement’ can be found to agree on an amount. I think it can also be paid over the contract even when sacked, I’m sure we were paying a manager upto until a year or so again as he had a long correct when we sacked him.

I even think it works that if you get sacked and paid out then find another job you have to return the money to the club.

[arana peligrosa]

EADT is reporting that Delap favours move to Man Utd. If true, he deserves all he gets from that lol. Of all the clubs he could join they'd be the last one I'd suggest. Absolute basket case of a club.

I wouldn’t be surprised if McKenna follows him because it’s just a matter of time before Amorim gets fired.

Said it so many times, KM won’t go anywhere this summer. Nobody is paying £15m to get him out of his contract.

They got a barbeque lined up if or when they collect the Europa League. Not sure if they intend holding it in Bilbao or wait 'til back in Manchester to dive in but doesn't seem a victory parade planned, just some grilled eats over a flame. Not sure what they're thinking.

McKenna won't go to Old Trafford. Thing is the fans there would accept him as they'd be aware he's done wonders for us and won't be put off by the relegation. After all, since Ferguson took off they've had to accept less or diminished expectation so all said it's a feasible thing he could end up with them.

McKenna will be here next season, he still got ample time on the contract extension to see out and would imagine directly from August after a close season rest he'd be real eager to get the team back at lower league attempting to do what we achieved before. There seems to be a minority or certain percentage of the fanbase here that would like him to vacate and you can understand the sentiments but it shows a certain dedication or tenacity from the individual (in) that he's prepared to fight on with us and won't be looking to offer himself to another employer.

[shabba]

It’s my understanding that with managers if a another club wants them they need to buy out the contract - KM I believe has three years left on a 5m PA deal, naturally that might have dropped with any relegation wage clause.

It works well for the manager too as the club have to pay out the fee if they sack them, unless a ‘mutual agreement’ can be found to agree on an amount. I think it can also be paid over the contract even when sacked, I’m sure we were paying a manager upto until a year or so again as he had a long correct when we sacked him.

I even think it works that if you get sacked and paid out then find another job you have to return the money to the club.

I found a better explanation of what I was trying to say I quote 15m as surely town would demand his full contract to be paid to release him.


1. When Another Club Wants to Hire a Manager Who Is Under Contract
If a club wants to appoint a manager who is currently under contract with another club:

Permission Must Be Sought: The hiring club must first contact the manager’s current club and request permission to speak with them. This is a professional and usually legal requirement.

Compensation Agreement: If permission is granted and the manager wants the move, the hiring club usually has to pay compensation to the current club to buy out the remainder of the manager's contract. This is similar to a transfer fee for a player.

Negotiations: The hiring club and the manager then agree on personal terms, which might include a new salary, contract length, and staffing arrangements (many managers bring their own assistants).

Examples:

When Tottenham hired Ange Postecoglou from Celtic in 2023, they paid a reported compensation fee.

Chelsea paid Brighton over £20 million to hire Graham Potter in 2022.

2. When a Manager Is Sacked
If a manager is dismissed (sacked) before their contract ends:

Severance Payment: The club usually has to pay out the remainder of the manager’s contract or negotiate a settlement. This could be a lump sum or payments over time. This is called a payoff.

Negotiated Settlement: Often, the two parties agree on a reduced severance package to avoid legal disputes and move on quickly.

Cost to the Club: These payments can be significant. For example, Chelsea reportedly paid over £20 million to sack both Thomas Tuchel and later Graham Potter in the 2022–23 season.

3. What Happens If the Sacked Manager Gets Another Job Quickly?
If a sacked manager finds a new job soon after leaving:

Mitigation Clause: Most severance agreements include a clause stating that if the manager gets a new job, especially in football, the original club can stop paying the severance or reduce what they owe. This is called a mitigation clause.

Timing Matters: If the manager takes time off or takes a job outside of football (e.g., media work), they might still receive all their severance. But if they take a managerial job within a certain period, they may forfeit the rest of their severance.

Example: If a manager was due £4 million in severance over 2 years, but takes a new job after 6 months, the old club might only pay £1 million and stop the rest.

[ITFC2024]

Thanks that info brings a bit more clarity to the situation. I really don’t think KM will leave just yet, but you never know in today’s football environment.

[shabba]

He won’t leave as he has golden handcuffs so to speak.

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

He won’t leave as he has golden handcuffs so to speak.

he might not have any choice. Let's wait until after the season has ended.
If I was the owner, I would consider £15m of parachute money well worth it to get rid of him.