Man Utd to sign wonderkid only IF they win Europa League final

Manchester United‘s chances of signing Liam Delap will decrease dramatically if they fail to win the Europa League final.

That is according to ESPNFC, who report that the outcome of Wednesday’s final be key to deciding whether Delap plays for Man Utd or Chelsea next season.

United take on Tottenham in the final in Bilbao, with the winner qualifying for the Champions League and the loser being out of Europe altogether.

ESPN reports that if United win the final, then Delap is very likely to sign for United. However, if United lose then Chelsea will be favourites as they are likely to be in the Champions League whilst United will also struggle more to finance the deal without European money.

Indeed, FootballTransfers reported at the end of February that Chelsea have gone all-in for Delap.

However, United are believed to be Delap’s favoured destination if they are in the Champions League.

Man Utd big fans of Delap

United have made Delap their top target for the number 9 position, and want him to arrive along with Wolves’ Matheus Cunha, whose transfer should become official later this week.

Delap is available for €35 million (£30m) due to a relegation release clause included in his current contract with Kieran McKenna’s side

United technical director Jason Wilcox is a big fan of Delap.

Wilcox sees Delap as the perfect fit for United’s new project under INEOS due to his young age at 22.

Delap has been enjoying an exceptional breakthrough campaign with Ipswich.

In the Premier League, he has scored 12 goals in just 36 appearances for a side who have been relegated.

He is the son of former Derby, Southampton and Stoke star Rory Delap, who was most famous for his incredible long throws.

Delap Jr started his career in the youth system of Derby before being signed by Man City in 2019.

He was very highly rated at City and went on a series of loan moves to Stoke, Preston and Hull.

After impressing in the Championship for Hull in 2023-24, he was signed permanently by Ipswich in the summer of 2024 for €24m plus the aforementioned buyback clause.

Delap has now emerged as one of the most promising youngsters in the Premier League.

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