Chelsea plot Man Utd £30m transfer hijack as West Ham develop contingency plan

Chelsea are confident that in-demand Ipswich Town talent Liam Delap will want to join the Blues over Premier League rivals Manchester United this summer with Enzo Maresca keen to lure 22-year-old to Stamford Bridge.

GiveMeSport reported on Sunday that Chelsea are ‘very much still pursuing’ Delap, even if it is the Red Devils who are more readily touted as the frontrunners to sign the striker. The Blues are said to be ‘quietly positioning themselves’ to be in a favourable position for the transfer race with Ipswich Town seemingly destined for relegation to the Championship.

Delap is known to have a £30 million release clause in his contract, which could be a bargain price for a young player who has bagged an impressive 12 goals in his first Premier League season for the strugglers. It is claimed that Manchester United’s interest in Delap is ‘genuine’ but that the side is also looking at other options, and that hesitancy could allow Chelsea to steal in with Maresca a fan of the bagsman.

Chelsea and Man Utd linked with Premier League striker transfer

Speaking about the player’s future this month, Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna said: “It's not something that's been discussed loads internally at the moment because everyone's focus has been on Bournemouth, Wolves and now Chelsea.

“If you ask me is that a possibility [that Delap stays], I think it's certainly a possibility. Liam's a young striker, he's developing really well at the football club, he's happy and is improving every week and we're enjoying working with him. I'm sure there's lots of different possibilities but Liam's an Ipswich player, he enjoys being an Ipswich player and that's where his full focus is.

“I've not seen much of it [transfer talk], to be honest. I'm pretty good at blocking it out but it's definitely a stage for really blocking it all out and focusing on ourselves. I think there's been chat about Liam all season, if there hadn't been it would be very unusual. He's done fantastically well, there's very few like him in world football and he's only going to get better.

“If there wasn't a lot of chat, if there wasn't a lot of clubs linked and interested then I'd be questioning the sanity of all the other clubs. It's a good thing for us, it's a good thing for the club. Liam's very happy here, he's developing well and that's where his focus is. He picked up a really heavy knock on Saturday in the game so he's missed some training this week, but I know his full focus is on getting ready to help the team and help the team in the last seven games.”

West Ham lock eyes on £22m Liam Delap alternative

West Ham are also named as one of the Premier League clubs looking at a move for Delap, but could accept that their chances are smaller than the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, with Manchester City also linked. GiveMeSport also reported at the weekend that the Hammers are viewing Strasbourg star Emanuel Emegha as another option.

It is not expected that Graham Potter and the club looks to make the loan of Evan Ferguson from Brighton a permanent move and are now set to ‘up the ante’ in their pursuit of Emegha. The Ligue 1 club have slapped a £22 million price tag on the striker, who is to be watched by the West Ham recruitment team in the coming weeks.

The Dutchman still has three years left on his Ligue 1 contract, which could complicate negotiations, but a strong enough bid is thought to tempt Strasbourg.

In other news, Pep Guardiola makes views clear on 'excellent' Crystal Palace star who has been linked with exit.