Manchester City forward Liam Delap is weighing up his options after holding talks with Ipswich Town.

The 21-year-old was pictured at Portman Road last Thursday. The EADT and Ipswich Star understands the front man wanted to get a further feel for the club and his potential role having held virtual discussions earlier in the summer.

Blues boss Kieran McKenna is believed to be a long-term admirer of the front man, who represented England from Under-16 to U21 level.

A versatile forward who can play wide right or up top, Delap made six senior appearances for City - including two appearances off the bench in the Premier League and one sub outing in the Champions League - as a teenager

Since then he's had three loan spells in the Championship. In the first half of 2022/23, he scored three goals in 15 starts and eight sub appearances for Stoke. Then, in the second half of that campaign, he bagged once in six starts and one sub appearance for Preston.

The Hampshire-born youngster, who is the son of former Republic of Ireland international Rory Delap, kicked on for Hull City last season, scoring eight goals in 26 starts and six sub appearances.

His contract at the Etihad runs until 2026, with Ipswich likely to want to do a permanent deal rather than a loan as they prepare for life in the Premier League.

Speaking after Town's 3-0 home win against Hull last October, McKenna said Delap was a big reason behind why he selected George Edmundson over Cameron Burgess in defence.

"I thought his qualities tonight against Liam Delap would be really important," explained the Blues boss. "There are not many more powerful runners than George so we thought we'd put him up against one of the more powerful runners in the league."

Delap is the third player from Hull's squad last season that the Blues are trying to sign.

It's understood that a £35m plus add-ons bid has been made for the Tigers for left-footed centre-back Jacob Greaves and skilful winger Jaden Philogene. Greaves' move to Portman Road is believed to be very advanced, with Town still in talks with Philogene, a player that is also a target of Everton and Crystal Palace.

 

TOWN SQUAD AS IT STANDS

GK: Walton, Slicker

RB: Johnson, Clarke

CB: Woolfenden, Burgess, Tuanzebe, Edmundson, Baggott, Ndaba

LB: Davis

CM: Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Humphreys, El Mizouni

RW: Hutchinson, Burns

AMC: Chaplin

LW: Broadhead, Harness

ST: Hirst, Al-Hamadi, Ladapo