Hull City face £20m blow as Man City set out their Liam Delap stall | OneFootball

The Tigers may need to fork out as much as £20m to secure the signature of former loanee Liam Delap.

Manchester City value Hull City target Liam Delap at around £20m, according to Football Insider.

The Tigers have been fully backed by their owner Acun Ilicali since his arrival during the early stages of 2022.

Although Ilicali has made mistakes during his time at the MKM Stadium, with the decision to sack Liam Rosenior potentially set to be another error, he has put his money where his mouth is to make Hull's squad as strong as possible.

He may have sold Keane Lewis-Potter, but he has taken a strong stance on many other players and impressive have been made to try and fire the East Yorkshire club into the promotion mix.

However, the Turkish businessman is likely to be restricted in what he can spend this summer, which could rule out some big-money signings in the coming weeks.

There's a chance that a couple of key departures could raise the funds needed to add a lot of quality to their squad, with Football Insider reporting this morning that Ipswich Town have submitted a £30m bid to try and lure Jacob Greaves and Jaden Philogene to Portman Road.

Those are the two players who are likely to attract the biggest bids this summer, but whether both leave the club this summer remains to be seen.

If they do, adequate replacements for the pair will be required before they even begin to focus on using the money left over to address other areas.

Hull City blow revealed on Liam Delap

Even if Greaves and Philogene are sold in a double deal to Ipswich, Hull may struggle to fund a permanent deal for Manchester City forward Delap.

Delap, who was on loan at the MKM Stadium last term and was a valuable asset for the Tigers, is thought to be on the club's wishlist again this summer.

It was previously reported that Delap would be available for around £10m, but Football Insider believes City currently value the player at £20m.

That could force Hull out of the race for the striker, with Southampton more likely to be able to fork out that amount for the City man following their promotion back to the Premier League.

Hull City should turn their attention to alternative targets amid Liam Delap blow

Hull can't afford to spend £20m on one player, regardless of whether Greaves and Philogene leave or not.

Delap was a real asset last term and that made him worth pursuing, but it seems futile to continue this chase if City are going to charge such a high amount for the forward.

Instead, the Tigers need to be looking at other targets and using the loan market again may not be a bad idea, considering the success they had with Delap last term.

If Greaves and Philogene are sold though, bringing in a permanent forward would be a good idea, with the Tigers currently short of options in this area.

If they can find an adequate replacement for the likes of Delap and Aaron Connolly, that would be ideal, with more attacking firepower required.