Exclusive: Ipswich Town transfer exit "fear" over Liam Delap revealed | OneFootball

With Ipswich on the cusp of returning to the Championship, they may end up losing one of their stars in the form of Delap

With just a month and a half remaining of the Premier League season, it appears that all three teams that were promoted to the top flight from the Championship last year will be coming straight back down.

Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town have all had torrid times back among England's elite, and the trio look to be heading back to the second tier for the 2025-26 campaign.

In Ipswich's case, the gap to Wolves in 17th is looking increasingly insurmountable, with a nine-point gap with nine games to go to claw back, and their squad, that has had plenty of money pumped into it through transfers, looks like it's not going to last in the Premier League.

One man in particular has stood out for the Tractor Boys, and that is Liam Delap, who had questions to answer following his initial £15 million move from Man City - but it's fair to say he's passed the tests with flying colours.

Lee Hendrie: Ipswich Town should be worried over Liam Delap exit if relegated

Leading the line by himself for much of the season, Delap has developed into a brute of a striker for Ipswich, scoring 11 times and being a constant threat or menace to top flight defences.

It has led to the likes of Man United, Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool being interested in the 22-year-old, with the Daily Mail claiming that a £40 million relegation release clause will become active if Ipswich do not avoid the drop - Man City also have a buy-back clause of the same amount if they wish to trigger it.

Delap may not be the only Town player eyed up if they go down, with the likes of Omari Hutchinson impressing too under Kieran McKenna's guidance - even if results on the whole have been poor.

And when asked whether or not he expects a mass exodus out of Portman Road should relegation be confirmed, Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie exclusively told Football League World that he expects a few players to depart - namely Delap.

"I think the players they brought in have been really good recruits," Hendrie told FLW.

"They bought younger players in, relatively younger ones who have had a taste at good Championship clubs, and the problem is that I feel that they've done very similar to what Burnley did - they had half a gamble on players and squad depth to try and keep them in the Premier League and possibly can still do so.

"But yes, you do feel that the players that have raised a lot of eyebrows are the likes of Delap, who has been very good for them, proved to be goal-worthy and he's a young player whose been at clubs and had tastes of pretty much everything.

"They have got a really good squad of players, and you do think and hope for Ipswich's sake that they do keep hold of them players, and I do think they'll keep a vast amount, but you do have to fear that they'll lose the likes of Delap, who has obviously been a standout figure, and then it's whether other clubs come for any more of their players.

"I don't think they'll lose as much as what you think, I think maybe three players maximum, because they bought their way into the possibilities of staying up, and if they get relegated, they will have a strong enough squad to maybe adapt to give them an opportunity to get themselves promoted the following season."

It's now surely inevitable that Liam Delap won't be an Ipswich Town player next season

Delap's reputation has simply soared throughout the season, and he's a far cry from the forward that struggled to make an impact for both Stoke City and Preston North End in loan stints two seasons ago.

He started to show some of the promise that had been evident in Man City's youth system when he spent 2023-24 at Hull, but he only scored eight Championship goals that season - Ipswich saw enough though to gamble on his potential.

They will now surely reap the rewards if/when their relegation is confirmed, as there's going to be a long line of clubs queueing up for the son of long throw-in specialist Rory's services, such is the impact he has made in the top flight this season.