Liam Delsps next goal will cost Town an additional

[hallamblue]

£5m as an add on to his original transfer fee from Man City. I also see they have a buy back clause.
Not good for Town all of this is it. Football just stinks of, greed...money....greed...money....now, what's the point.

Link here.

https://x.com/city_xtra/status/18556419 ... t=zmbeaFws

[Ricco]

It's the way the world spins, the rich are rich (and stay rich) for a reason.

Frankly I don't care in this case, even at the full price tag he is proving he is worth it, if he helps keep us up he'd have been worth double/triple +++ what we paid.

[Bluemike]

I think the buy back clause is first option on him should we sell him.

[Ricco]

I think it's irrelevant anyway, I don't think in his right mind he would want to go back to City any time soon. As well as he is performing, and as much as he may continue to improve, they are always going to have the best forwards in the world, and look what happened to Phillips' career when he took too big a steep in to the deep end.

[Bluemike]

Exactly

[hallamblue]

Very true. So maybe there's some hope ....I do find it all deflating though. The game has changed beyond recognition and I don't like where we are at now in the game as a whole.

[Bluemike]

I guess we just have to enjoy the ride and what will be will be, can't change it.

[Shed on tour]

Blimey, I thought before the season started that goals might be hard to come by for us in this league but having to pay 5 million for one is a bit over the top!

[marko69]

£5m as an add on to his original transfer fee from Man City. I also see they have a buy back clause.
Not good for Town all of this is it. Football just stinks of, greed...money....greed...money....now, what's the point.

Link here.

https://x.com/city_xtra/status/18556419 ... t=zmbeaFws

The price of being in the EPL, Hallam.

What do ITFC do……
put cash into the “delap-idated” parts of the stadium?
Or delap?

Is it very much a cash drain. Its a business that i do not really understand properly if im honest. Constantly running at a loss.
Who knows.

[Bluemike]

Very good Marko lol

I don't understand it either, I've had 3 of my own businesses over the years and would love to be able to p*ss money away like football clubs do, bloody tax man etc are after you for a sodding misplaced pound never mind multi millions.

[hallamblue]

Yes, I suppose you're right. " enjoy" the PL ride while it lasts and hope the club can establish themselves tbh. But if not it'll be proper
( better?) Footie experience in the Championship where we'd arguably be one of the stronger clubs .....

[Bluemike]

Out of interest Liz, where did you see the next goal costs us 5 Million ? The link says an additional 5 Million in add ons but doesn't mention goals other than he scored another one.

[hallamblue]

Oh, as usual, I'd picked it up from twtd.... where I got the link from. Maybe that person had misinterpreted the link.... I'll see if I can find it again

[Bluemike]

No worries, I reckon they misread it as another goal costs 5 million.

[hallamblue]

Did seem a bit steep lol

[Bluemike]

Did seem a bit steep lol

For not many goals yes lol

[Charnwood]

I think it's irrelevant anyway, I don't think in his right mind he would want to go back to City any time soon. As well as he is performing, and as much as he may continue to improve, they are always going to have the best forwards in the world, and look what happened to Phillips' career when he took too big a steep in to the deep end.

Does Delap have any say on his next move ? … Surely if Man City have first option and they choose to exercise it then that’s where he goes.

[hallamblue]

It’ll go the way of that Villa winger we were after who was at Hull. He went back to Villa, stop sit on the bench and a bigger contract. If Chelsea do come 8n for him, Man City will exercises tha5 clause souls to prevent Chelsea getting the hot prospect. PL is

[Dubai Blue]

I think you'll find that Man City will have to match any AGREED bid. Just like the Philogene deal, sounds identical. It doesn't disadvantage us in any way.

[Denny61]

I think you'll find that Man City will have to match any AGREED bid. Just like the Philogene deal, sounds identical. It doesn't disadvantage us in any way.

correct....if Chelsea come in for him at 50 Million ..its up to city to decide to give us that or not ..any lower bid we Don't have to accept any city doesn't come in to the equation..

[hallamblue]

I'd be amazed if Town will even consider selling Delap. They've only just begun to mould/ develop him, so it'd have to be a massive fee for us to agree to sel. Can't see it myself

[Bluemike]

Agreed, he's not going anywhere anytime soon

[marko69]

I have only witnessed about 8 minutes of the Man Utd game and in that 8 minutes what stuck out was Delaps awareness of everyone around him. Its like he's automatically tuned in to where others are....., spraying inch perfect passes out wide left and more so right....., (well 3 were to the right in those clips)......, so not only a possible consistent goalscorer, he's also going to set up other chances.

I reckon Ricco was too cheap with the £250M!!

[mendipblue]

£5m as an add on to his original transfer fee from Man City. I also see they have a buy back clause.
Not good for Town all of this is it. Football just stinks of, greed...money....greed...money....now, what's the point.

Link here.

https://x.com/city_xtra/status/18556419 ... t=zmbeaFws

But his goals could earn Town another 100 million. So 5 million seems like good business in the long run

[patthegimp]

Just for clarity- is it up to ITFC to set the selling price and if not matched then stays with us?

[Bluemike]

Yes and City have to at least match any accepted offer for first option on him.

[Charnwood]

If our return to the Premier League is a success I can see him staying at Portman Road for a long time and even extending his contract here especially if the owners continue to invest in the club. The only way I think he’ll leave in the short term is if we get relegated or show no signs of making progress at this level.
Some will think I’m being overly optimistic but I still see us surviving this season and kicking on next season.

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

If our return to the Premier League is a success I can see him staying at Portman Road for a long time and even extending his contract here especially if the owners continue to invest in the club. The only way I think he’ll leave in the short term is if we get relegated or show no signs of making progress at this level.
Some will think I’m being overly optimistic but I still see us surviving this season and kicking on next season.

Agree completely that Delap is here for the long term, assuming we can remain in the PL.

Also agree that we will survive this season although I'm not really expecting us to kick on and find a winning run until February

[marko69]

Also agree that we will survive this season although I'm not really expecting us to kick on and find a winning run until February

Thats like a horoscope reading.

Think you’re right though. Few new players in the door at 23:59 on 31st Jan……., gel word for two weeks……. Totting up the 3pts weekly by mid to late Febs.

[Bluemike]

McKenna: We've No Interest in Selling Delap and He Has No Interest in Going Anywhere Else
Thursday, 28th Nov 2024 16:36


Boss Kieran McKenna says the Blues have no interest in selling striker Liam Delap and that the frontman similarly has no interest in going anywhere else, despite plenty of speculation regarding the six-goal 21-year-old future only four months into his Portman Road career.

Former club Manchester City and Chelsea have been especially frequently linked over recent days, while Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Newcastle have also previously been mentioned. Italian giants Juventus are also understood to have sent scouts to watch the England U21 international, who is contracted to the Blues until the summer of 2029, in action.

It was widely reported when Delap joined Town from City for an initial £15 million in the summer that there was a buy-back clause in the deal.


Various scenarios have been outlined regarding how this might work, but it’s likely the position is that City have the option to match any bids the Blues might receive from elsewhere within a set timeframe, a situation similar to the one involving Town target Jaden Philogene in the summer which saw the winger return to Aston Villa from Hull City.

“A buy-back clause is not something I am aware of or interested in, to be honest,” McKenna said when quizzed on the position.

“I know my full focus is on this season and with regards to Liam, helping him to continue to improve.

“I know Liam’s full focus is on here and on the team and trying to help the team while continuing his own improvement. He has had a good start to the season which is positive.

“But we have to remember that it’s very early stages for Liam. He’s really in his first season starting regularly as a number nine.

“He played off the side a lot of times last year at Hull, he played as a wide striker in his early Championship loan moves, so as a nine, starting down the middle of the pitch, this is his first season doing it week-in, week-out, maybe now doing it two times a week and at Premier League level.

“It is of course positive that he is doing well, but it is really early days. His focus, my focus, our focus is just to continue to improve.

Asked about the buy-back clause situation again later in his press conference, McKenna added: “No, I’ve not asked [chairman and CEO] Mark [Ashton] about it.

“I know we’ve got no interest in selling Liam and Liam’s got no interest in going anywhere else at the moment, he wants to continue to focus on his performance and his game and improving and helping the team here. That’s where everyone’s focus is.”


McKenna says Portman Road is the best place for the one-time Derby County schoolboy at present.

“I think that’s pretty clear,” he said. “I said that in the summer and that was part of the things I spoke to not just Liam but the likes of Omari and people like that about.

“There are not too many 21-year-olds playing week-in, week-out in the Premier League and there are not too many who have the number nine position or the number 10 position or a centre-half position.

“All those positions are a responsibility and that’s part of our model, not the only bit of our model, part of our model is to invest in young talent and give them the environment and the opportunity to succeed.

“Some of the boys have had a pretty good start on that, but it’s only a start. Let’s continue in that way.”

Quizzed on whether he believes Delap is now worth double the £15 million Town paid for him, McKenna said: “I think that’s a question for other people and for Mark Ashton, I don’t think too much about the value. I don’t worry as long as we’ve done the right thing for the club.

“People can look at transfer fees but what we pay for a Liam Delap or an Omari Hutchinson or a Jacob Greaves or a Leif Davis two years ago, I don’t worry about that too much because I know and I feel like they’re good investments for the football club.

“And what his market value is now, there’s not many strikers of that type of profile in football, that’s the honest truth, but it’s not a concern of mine, the only concern is just trying to push him and help him get better all the time.”

Regarding what Delap’s next stride forward on the field needs to be, he added: “For any young player hitting a good level, consistency is a big one. It’s not necessarily all about the next thing.

“It’s early in the season and early for him. So he has to keep going first and foremost. He has to stay consistent, he has to stay grounded, he has to keep doing the things that have brought him success up until this point – both in his career and more specifically this season.

“He has to show he can do those things and apply himself in a really, really consistent basis and do it over a period of months – and then for a season and over a period of seasons.

“I think that’s a hallmark of the top strikers in the league. They are so consistent over longer periods of time. Other than that, he is already making big strides in his game, to be honest.


“From when he arrived here, I think he is a different animal off the ball. His understanding of how he can influence the game, both in dropping and linking positions but also his movement to stretch in behind and in the channels, is improving.

“I still think his penalty box movement can improve. It’s good to see him score one or two goals like that this season. I think the Brentford goal, where he made a sharp movement across the defender, was a really good one, but he can still improve in those situations.

“I think in his all-round game, he has that profile as an all-round striker, which isn’t easy. He is a fine physical size who can run behind and drop and link and he is now showing he can work off the ball and do the other sides of the game as well.

“When you have that profile, you want him to keep improving in every area. Of course, scoring goals is the most valuable thing in football. But when you have an all round profile like Liam, he’s got to work hard to improve all aspects of his game. But if he does that, then he will be a great player.”

Former England international Danny Murphy said on Match of the Day last week that Delap is the obvious long-term successor to Harry Kane in the England team.

McKenna was asked how his striker took that compliment: “I can’t imagine, knowing Liam, that he’s hanging on the words of any pundits or anyone, to be honest.

“People are very, very quick, not in this instance but in general, we can build young players up really, really quickly and we can put them back down or forget about them really, really quickly as well.

“He’s coming from good stock, he’s coming from a football family, so I’m sure he gets that advice from there as well.

“It’s about keeping your feet on the floor, not listening too much to outside noise, listening to the people close to you whose opinion you really, really value and I know that’s what he’s been doing around the football club and I’m sure that’s the advice that he’ll be getting at home as well, and I think that will serve him well.”

Town haven’t had an England international since Richard Wright won a cap in a friendly in Malta in June 2000. However, McKenna isn’t particularly concerned by the prospect of Delap - or perhaps Leif Davis or maybe even Omari Hutchinson - ending that wait.

“The thought of it doesn’t particularly do anything for me, to be honest,” he said. “We’ve had people from other nations get their international debut, it’s just always nice for the individual concerned and you’re always proud of it, whether it’s England or any other nation when a player who hasn’t had international duty gets it under your progress as a club. That’s always a positive.

“I don’t think there’s one person in the building who is thinking about that in any way, to be honest.

He added: “I think Harry Kane’s got plenty of good years in him yet, there’s plenty of time for that

Should put all the rumours to bed.