Man Utd want £40m Prem striker to follow new wing-back into Old Trafford

 A second source has confirmed Manchester United are keen on signing a £40m-rated Premier League striker who represents a far most cost-effective option to Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen.

It’s been well documented Man Utd will not be able to splash the cash in the summer to the levels they did in previous years. Indeed, Ruben Amorim has gone on record to state player sales will be crucial in determining United’s ambition in the market.

Nevertheless, United have acted quickly to seal a verbal agreement on personal terms with Sporting CP star, Geovany Quenda.

The 17-year-old is already a regular starter in Lisbon and played at right wing-back during Amorim’s final months in charge before leaving for Old Trafford.

The full details in that potential deal – including how much Man Utd are expected to pay – can be found here.

The Quenda agreement was broken by reporter Ben Jacobs who in his assessment, also claimed Man Utd will ‘almost certainly’ sign a new striker too.

Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen are understood to be high in Amorim’s thinking. However, neither player will come cheap.

Gyokeres is expected to cost around €70m/£60m if leaving Sporting CP. Osimhen – once returned to Napoli from his loan spell at Galatasaray – can be signed for the slightly higher sum of €75m/£62m via his release clause come the summer.

Accordingly, GiveMeSport claimed Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap is viewed as a worthy and cheaper alternative by United chiefs. Their interest in Delap was labelled ‘serious’, and a fresh update from the i paper has echoed those claims.

They state United are ‘keen’ on landing the 22-year-old who’s already scored 10 goals in his first ever season in the Premier League.

Liam Delap valuation, Man City buy-back clause, Other suitors…

The i paper as well as our own sources at TEAMtalk have confirmed Ipswich’s valuation of Delap is around £40m.

However, the club’s bargaining power will obviously diminish if they’re relegated to the Championship. Ipswich currently sit 18th in the Premier League table.

Nonetheless, Ipswich will be determined to drive the price as high as possible given Man City hold a 20 percent sell-on clause in the deal.

City also included a buy-back clause into their agreement with Ipswich, but with Erling Haaland and now Omar Marmoush in situ, there is no great need to re-sign Delap.

Other clubs aside from Man Utd known to be taking a look at Delap include Chelsea and Tottenham.

GO DEEPER: Liam Delap timeline

– Joined Man City’s academy in 2019 at the age of 16 after 10 years at Derby County, where his dad Rory previously played.

– Scored just 18 minutes into his senior debut for City in an EFL Cup win over Bournemouth in September 2021 and made his Premier League bow just three days later.

– After a succession of injuries, Delap made his Champions League debut for City at Sporting in February 2022, coming on for Bernardo Silva in a 5-0 win.

– Loaned out to Stoke City and then Preston during the 2022/23 season, scoring just four times in 38 appearances combined.

– Joined Hull City on loan for the 2023/24 campaign and scored eight times in 32 outings for the Tigers as they finished seventh in the Championship, just outside the play-offs.

– Joined newly-promoted Ipswich in a £20million deal from City in July 2024, signing a five-year-old contract at Portman Road.

– Scored his first goal for Town in a 1-1 Premier League draw with Fulham on August 31.

– Became the first Ipswich player to score a top-flight double in a game since Darren Bent in 2002 when he notched both goals in a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on September 29.