Chelsea hand Manchester City major cash boost as striker transfer agreed | OneFootball

Manchester City will be eligible for a sum of money should Liam Delap complete a reported move to Chelsea from Ipswich Town, it has been revealed.

Delap left Manchester City on a permanent, long-term deal till 2029 to join Ipswich Town last summer and after suffering relegation to the EFL Championship in his first season at Portman Road, the 22-year-old is set to join Chelsea ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Chelsea have agreed personal terms with the English forward and are set to activate a reported £30 million release clause entered into the striker’s contract, which will see Delap reunite with former Manchester City academy teammates Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia in west London.

Former Manchester City assistant coach Enzo Maresca has won the race to sign the highly-rated Delap after an eye-catching season for the England U-21 international, who has also attracted interest from Manchester United ahead of the summer transfer window.

Manchester City sold Delap for £20 million last summer and are themselves on the lookout for four to five additions to their first-team ahead of the new campaign – having failed to challenge for the Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles whilst losing to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final.

The 2023 treble winners have enjoyed a series of lucrative sales within the first-team in the last two years, also seeing Julian Alvarez join Atletico Madrid for £82 million last summer after selling Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez and Cole Palmer after winning their maiden Champions League title.

Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White and AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders are on Manchester City’s wishlist for the summer transfer window, with a new full-back also expected to arrive at the Etihad Stadium with Kyle Walker set to leave the club.

Chelsea have agreed a deal with Ipswich Town to sign Delap and are expected to complete a deal for the Englishman, who will hand his boyhood side a major cash boost as Manchester City approach a crossroads transfer window after a sub-standard 2024-25 campaign.

It has previously been reported that Manchester City added a 20% sell-on clause into Delap’s contract at Ipswich Town, which will now lend them a significant boost in the transfer market as the forward wraps up a highly-anticipated transfer to Stamford Bridge.

Delap is set to once again line up alongside Palmer, who has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best forwards after a breakthrough few seasons at Chelsea, who have given the attacker the license to express himself.

Guardiola called upon Delap when Manchester City’s lacklustre attack needed inspiration in the 2019-20 season but the young striker was subsequently deemed surplus to requirements and Maresca will be delighted to have recruited a name he knows so well from his time in Manchester.