WITH just five Premier League games remaining this season, Ipswich Town are destined for the drop.
Should they lose to Newcastle on Saturday, the Tractor Boys will be relegated back to the Championship.
And that will almost guarantee the departure of sought-after forward Liam Delap amid interest from some of England’s top clubs.
Delap joined Ipswich from Manchester City last summer for just £20million.
And he will become available for just £30m if the Tractor Boys go down thanks to a relegation clause.
The 22-year-old has managed 14 goal contributions in 32 Premier League games this term.
And his impressive form has attracted interest from the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United over the last year.
But which club would be the best fit for him? SunSport has looked at what makes him so good and what he would bring to each team.
MOVEMENT OFF THE LAST LINE
It’s fair to say that the performance and output that we have seen from Delap this season for Ipswich has taken plenty of people by surprise.
He spent the previous campaign on loan with Hull City in the Championship and, although he played well, his form did not suggest that he would take the Premier League by storm in the way that he has.
One of the biggest surprises for many has been the movement that Delap has shown on the last line to create space and separation for himself.
When Ipswich are attacking, we often see Delap covered by two or three defenders.
But he routinely makes clever runs that give him the advantage over the opposition.
His movement is very intelligent but it’s the timing of these runs that really makes an impact and allows Delap to create space for himself.
In the above example, we see a clever movement from Delap where he first creates the attack before timing his arrival into space to finish comfortably.
He picks up the ball and drives forward before releasing it wide.
The forward then moves into the space to pick up the cross and finish first time.
The club that would most benefit from this specific part of Delap’s profile is Chelsea.
The Blues have seen their form dip dramatically across the second half of the season and with that Cole Palmer has suffered.
To get the best out of Palmer, Chelsea need to add a striker with the movement profile of Delap.
The former Man City star can attempt clever runs to make the most of the quality passes we usually see from Palmer.
By adding a striker with the profile of Delap to their team for next season, Chelsea will be taking a player with the presence, athleticism and intelligent movement to really help them break down teams that sit in a deeper defensive block.
Delap would naturally push defensive lines back and provide space for Palmer to occupy in behind, but he is also capable of receiving and linking the play around him.
Chelsea need to add a modern profile of striker for next season and Delap should be high on their list.
INTELLIGENT MOVEMENT IN THE AREA
Modern strikers who thrive on running and attacking space behind the defensive line often struggle with their movement in tighter spaces, including the penalty area.
This is not the case with Delap.
One of the most interesting aspects of his development with Ipswich this season has been with his movement to create separation within the opposition penalty area.
He has developed into an instinctive striker with excellent timing when looking to attack balls in the area.
Delap has the traditional size and shape of a target man and as such you would expect him to be strong when attacking crosses.
It is his movement, anticipation and the timing of his first move though that makes him really effective in the area.
He makes strong runs across the defender to attack space and has a tendency to arrive at the right time for the cross.
In the above example, Delap is initially isolated as the only Ipswich player in the Aston Villa penalty area.
As the ball is worked wide the man in possession shifts the ball and drives across a good low cross.
As soon as the wide player started to shift his feet, Delap read the intention with a clever run across the face of the defender to finish past the goalkeeper.
Out of the top teams linked with Delap it’s Arsenal who would most benefit from adding a player with this profile.
The Gunners generate a high volume of crosses but their striker options are not good enough to take advantage.
The likes of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus – when they were fit – rarely make the most of these chances.
If Arsenal were to add a striker like Delap to really attack the ball and show clever movement, then suddenly the volume of crosses that they generate will be put to far better use.
The Champions League semi-finalists do not need a striker who will provide value in build-up – but they do need someone who can finish.
Here, we see a moment where Arsenal have worked the ball into a strong position. Havertz is the striker looking to attack the cross but the timing of his run is too early, allowing the opposition defenders to react and block the eventual shot.
Arsenal have one glaring hole in their squad and that is at the No9 position.
They need to add an option in that area this summer and a domestic option like Delap should appeal to their top brass.
PACE TO STRETCH THE PITCH
One of the stand-out things about Delap this year has been his strength when attacking space behind defensive lines.
For the most part, Ipswich have faced teams with more possession of the ball and as such the opposition have pushed their defence higher.
This has, in turn, meant that Ipswich have generally had space to counter attack with more direct passes, releasing Delap into space.
In the modern game, more and more teams are looking for tall and powerful strikers who have the pace and ability to run behind and force the opposition to defend in space.
That fits the profile of Delap nicely. He can stretch the space and really cause danger for his team when they are trying to attack quickly from deeper areas.
In this match, Delap showed his ability to peel off the defender to create space for himself before then making quick runs to attack the space.
His team-mates know they can take possession of the ball and then quickly hit forward passes to release him into space.
Man Utd, under Ruben Amorim, are in desperate need of a striker who fits this profile.
They thought they had this already in Rasmus Hojlund, but while Delap has shown real development in his game across this season, it would be fair to say that Hojlund has gone backwards.
Indeed, when you watch United play they are clearly missing a forward player who can be effective running the channels and giving them an option to attack space behind the defensive line.
This allows opposition teams to squeeze the game and to play higher, making it more difficult for United to effectively build their attack.
We see an example of this here as United play a direct pass into the channel to release Hojlund. He does not have the power or the pace, however, to make the most of the opportunity and allows two Man City players to catch him.
CONCLUSION
There is no doubt that Delap will be on the move this summer.
There is no value for the player or for Ipswich in keeping the striker for a season in the Championship.
The only question is where will he go?
While he would no doubt benefit Arsenal and United, Chelsea could gain most by landing the man touted as a future England star.
It can be argued that Delap could be the player to help things click for Chelsea and take them to the next level.
If he can get the absolute best out of Cole Palmer, and vice versa, then surely the Blues will return to their absolute best.
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