Manchester City braced for major cash boost thanks to Manchester United transfer business | OneFootball

Officials at the Etihad Stadium could be set to reap the rewards of an agreement signed last summer courtesy of Manchester United’s transfer plans in the coming months.

Manchester City are known to be shrewd operators when it comes to transfer negotiations and it has become a common theme for the club to retain some sort of financial interest in players long beyond their exit from the Etihad Stadium.

Those within the club will perhaps be more alert to negotiating favourable terms such as buy-back and sell-on clauses in future sales of young talents having let go of Cole Palmer to Chelsea for a £40 million fee without any interest in the now England superstar’s future.

Among the recent names to have been subject to terms negotiated into their contract is Liam Delap, who brought an end to his time with Manchester City’s academy and first-team squad on a permanent basis last summer by joining Ipswich Town for around £20 million.

But just one year on from that big-money move and an even greater switch of career direction could be on the cards for the highly-rated centre-forward, who is attracting attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs after a string a hugely impressive performances.

According to the information of MailSport’s Chris Wheeler and Jack Gaughan, Manchester United have made the England Under-21 international striker their number one target in the position ahead of the summer transfer window.

Notably however, Manchester City have a buyback option in the deal that saw Delap leave the Etihad Stadium for Kieran McKenna’s side last summer, which the report says is in the region of £40 million.

However, it is revealed that City officials are unlikely to re-sign the forward, and with Delap wanting regular first-team football, such a possibility under Pep Guardiola would be tough given Erling Haaland’s firm status as lead striker.

City could benefit from a move for Liam Delap to Manchester United having inserted a 20 per cent sell-on clause as part of the youngster’s move to Ipswich, although the Old Trafford club also face competition from the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool in England alone.

Manchester City themselves strengthened their attacking line during the January transfer window, and as a result it would be difficult to see the club bringing in any further firepower in the forward positions during the summer months.

That is largely as a result of the work that has to be put in elsewhere in the squad, with a number of positions expected to come under the microscope including attacking midfield as a direct result of Kevin De Bruyne’s confirmed exit in the summer.

Among the names that could be considered to replace the 33-year-old Belgian legend is Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, who is likely to command a transfer fee well north of £100 million should he even wish to leave the Bundesliga side this summer.