Tottenham Hotspur are in pole position to sign Ipswich Town ace Liam Delap despite the centre-forward also being eyed by several other Premier League clubs including Chelsea, it has been claimed.
On October 3, TEAMtalk exclusively revealed that Chelsea are considering a January move for Delap as they look to add another option to their striker ranks. But the Blues are not alone in admiring the England U21 international, as the transfer race is intensifying.
As per CaughtOffside, Tottenham, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Delap’s former club Manchester City are all keeping tabs on the player following his excellent start to life in the Premier League with Ipswich.
Delap has managed four goals in eight league appearances so far, which includes a great brace during the 2-2 draw with Villa on September 29.
CaughtOffside state that Tottenham are ‘leading the race’ for the 21-year-old as things stand. Ange Postecoglou’s side are ‘particularly keen to snap him up’, and they will have to act fast if they are to keep the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and City at bay.
It is claimed that Ipswich will consider offers worth around €40million (£33m / $43m), despite Delap’s importance to them potentially staying in the top flight. The report suggests Ipswich may cash in and sell their prized attacker this winter, having captured him from City for an initial £15m rising to £20m (up to €24m / $26m) in the summer.
Delap could replace Tottenham flop
Spurs look set to continue revamping their striker ranks even after the summer addition of Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth.
Signing Delap would push fellow striker Richarlison further down the pecking order. Spurs spent £60m (€72m / $78m) to sign Richarlison in summer 2022 but he has not lived up to expectations.
It was recently claimed that Spurs will slowly integrate Richarlison back into the team following his injury with a view to selling him in January.
Delap could be a great option to provide Solanke with cover and competition up front, as he is a rising star who already possesses a small amount of top-flight experience.
England U21 coach Ben Futcher recently sung Delap’s praises after he caused Ukraine all sorts of problems during the international break.
“He’s given their centre-halves a real rough night,” Futcher said.
“Liam was an absolute handful. If you want to go and fight him, he’ll match you. If you want to race him, he’ll win the race.
“He’s very difficult to deal with, he’s quick, he’s powerful, he’s in good form in the Premier League. Liam’s a top number nine and he’s going to keep developing.”
Futcher added that Ipswich ‘are very lucky to have such a good striker on their hands’, though Premier League rivals are beginning to circle.
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Meanwhile, Spurs are best-placed to sign Denmark starlet Patrick Dorgu, who is now ‘very likely’ to leave Italian club Lecce next summer.
Spurs remain interested in capturing the left winger – who can also play as a left-back – after previously missing out on him during the last summer transfer window.
Lecce have managed to tie down the 19-year-old to a long-term contract which runs until June 2029, but that is simply to protect his transfer value.
Spurs can beat other clubs such as Chelsea to Dorgu by offering Lecce €35m (£29.5m / $39m) for the versatile wide man.
Another Serie A star Spurs are tracking is Inter Milan defender Yann Bisseck.
The Italian press have claimed that Spurs could send Inter a player-plus-cash bid for the centre-half. Surprisingly, January arrival Radu Dragusin is named as the player who could be involved in that proposal.
TIMELINE: Liam Delap’s journey to Portman Road