The desire from Tottenham to land Liam Delap points to the desire to sell one of their own strikers, as ex-Spurs scout Bryan King feels they won’t get him “unless” they sell a player in his position.
Tottenham are one of the Premier League big boys most impressed with Delap during his first proper Premier League season. The forward played twice for Manchester City in short cameos in recent seasons, before heading to Ipswich in the summer.
There, he has bagged five league goals in nine games – including a late equaliser in a 4-3 loss against Brentford, before he almost equalised again when hitting the post – and reports suggest Tottenham are keen on him, with Delap’s value now at £33million.
Former Spurs scout King feels that move won’t happen unless a striker is sold by the club, though.
“They’ve just signed a striker from Bournemouth [Dominic Solanke] for £60million-plus,” King told Tottenham News.
“You’ve got Richarlison and Solanke. You wouldn’t be looking to bring in another striker until at least next summer unless someone left Spurs in January.”
Solanke, having only been signed in the summer, is unlikely to be sold, but Richarlison, who has struggled to prove his worth after a £60million move in 2022, has been the subject of multiple reports on Spurs getting rid already.
As such, if Delap is to be pursued, Richarlison is likely the man to make way.
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King feels Ipswich are unlikely to want to let Delap go until at least the summer, though, given he is their top scorer this term and could help them to avoid relegation – they have been hovering around the drop zone.
“However, then it depends on if Ipswich Town are willing to sell him. I think they’re going to have problems in the Premier League,” King said.
“Therefore, the one guy scoring your goals, why would you want to sell him? That would be bad business, in a season where they’re trying to survive.”
Whether or not the former Manchester City academy player gets a big move remains to be seen, but continuing to bang in goals can’t hurt his chances.
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