Liam Delap | £30m release clause?

Also slating him for not lighting up the championship at the age of 20 is a joke, he still scored 8 goals for Hull. That's better than most his age.

Remind me how was Harry Kane doing in the championship at the same age - oh that's right he scored 2 goals for Leicester.
 
I see this thread has gone the usual route of: ‘I’d prefer a more experienced striker who can guarantee 20+ goals’ but then no one is able to state who exactly that person is.

Because clearly Gyokeres is off the table, Osi is likely Saudi bound, and the rest are literally all also unattainable or as ‘risky’ as this guy, if not more so as at least this guy has had a full Pl season behind him where he’s the tied 11th highest goal scorer.

Given we’re not going to be the finished product next year anyway given our many flaws, he’s an easy gamble to make. If he performs similarly to this year we’d still easily get the price (if not more) we will pay if we wanted to sell, and you’d expect him to improve further. Of course any young striker is a risk but think he’s the best available. Just hope we can fend off Chelsea.
 
devilish said:
Delap is a young striker who had just turned 22 (February 08). This is his second season as a first teamer and the first season in the EPL. Previously he played as a cover at Preston and at Stoke. He's also playing with the third worst side in the EPL

In my opinion we should go for an experienced forward. If its not Osimhen then we can aim for someone like Retegui, Schick or David. However I do believe that a second striker is needed. Hojlund had lost the dressing room and Zirkzee is not a no 9. Hence I don't mind if we get Delap as a cover/competition.
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Yeah I cannot for the life of me not understand buying a proven striker, look I get this is bargain price, however has Hojlund not taught us anything this season. I am so disappointed if they aren't keep an open mind on the situation after signing him.
 
Mcking said:
Hoping we don't fall into this trap. Him failing will set us back a couple of years or more. He will keep riding on potential while we struggle for goals every season until everyone gives up. We should move like a big club for once and get Osimhen.
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2014: "We're creating plenty, just can't finish! Let's get Falcao in"
2016: "I can't take it anymore, let's just get Zlatan and be done with it"
2017: "We should stop pissing about and get a proper striker, I say let's get Lukaku"
2018: "We're almost there, just need more goals! What about this Alexis lad down in London?"
2020: "Martials horseshit. Let's get a proven goalscorer, Cavani's done it for both Napoli and PSG"
2021: "F*ck it, let's bring Cristiano home! He's still got it"

Dude, it's not like we haven't "moved like a big club" in the past. Granted, with hind-sight to help you it's easy to say that most of these (barring Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez) were over the hill when we signed them, but we've definitely gone down the proven route before. At this point we should just be ruthless with signings and cut our losses if it's not working. We can only do that sustainably if they don't cost an arm and a leg in signing/wages, which makes it either impossible to get rid, or we get rid at a huge loss. Delap makes a lot of sense with our purported, more financially sustainable, operating model.

The only one somewhat in play (though probably not really) that I feel certain would do better than Delap is Isak. And that's going to cost a bomb, and is very unlikely to happen in any case.
 
stepic said:
I see this thread has gone the usual route of: ‘I’d prefer a more experienced striker who can guarantee 20+ goals’ but then no one is able to state who exactly that person is.

Because clearly Gyokeres is off the table, Osi is likely Saudi bound, and the rest are literally all also unattainable or as ‘risky’ as this guy, if not more so as at least this guy has had a full Pl season behind him where he’s the tied 11th highest goal scorer.

Given we’re not going to be the finished product next year anyway given our many flaws, he’s an easy gamble to make. If he performs similarly to this year we’d still easily get the price (if not more) we will pay if we wanted to sell, and you’d expect him to improve further. Of course any young striker is a risk but think he’s the best available. Just hope we can fend off Chelsea.
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I honestly don’t think Gyokeres is off the table at all.
 
Glorio said:
Always wary of strikers who we've only seen for 1 season. Remember the big Brighton kid? Disappeared after they were quoting astronomical fees. It's not too dissimilar a situation to Højlund.

Attackers are difference makers in football. Even in our heyday, there were many games where on the balance of play we were on par with the opposition, but the belief was always that our quality upfront would tell, and for the most part, it did.

I'd rather we went for the most established top class striker that we could possibly get (who knows what that is these days!)
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To be fair to Ferguson, he's had a ton of injury issues that hurt his development.
 
stepic said:
I see this thread has gone the usual route of: ‘I’d prefer a more experienced striker who can guarantee 20+ goals’ but then no one is able to state who exactly that person is.

Because clearly Gyokeres is off the table, Osi is likely Saudi bound, and the rest are literally all also unattainable or as ‘risky’ as this guy, if not more so as at least this guy has had a full Pl season behind him where he’s the tied 11th highest goal scorer.

Given we’re not going to be the finished product next year anyway given our many flaws, he’s an easy gamble to make. If he performs similarly to this year we’d still easily get the price (if not more) we will pay if we wanted to sell, and you’d expect him to improve further. Of course any young striker is a risk but think he’s the best available. Just hope we can fend off Chelsea.
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OK seeing as you asked here are four

Watkins - He can't be happy with the current situation at Villa and has proven himself

Mbuemo - 18 league goals for Brentford is phenomenal return in my opinion

Mateta - Scored a cracking goal last night and 14 league goals is a very decent return for Palace

Wood - Yes I will admit age is a factor but you can't argue with 19 league goals for Forest

There is no doubt Isak is the boat that we missed, however that applies to most other teams too, in terms of Gyokeres I am convinced he will be joining Arsenal which is frustrating.
 
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Coxy said:
Where's the magic money coming from mate? He would command a much higher transfer fee AND wages.
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Magic money, bloody hell. Calm down, feck me.

We clearly have money. Gyokeres is rumoured to cost around 50M - 60M.

We are going to make sales, I’d be very very surprised if we don’t. We have a few players leaving on free’s - that will free up some money too.

Wages I’m not concerned about, he cannot demand huge wages at all, he doesn’t have much to show for to demand fee close to £200k a week. I think he can demand like around £150k p/w
 
LARulz said:
I would be very nervous going into next season with him as our main strike option. We need as guaranteed a goals scorer as we can get. Delap may be Greta in 3 years time but we don't have that time
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Yeah it's too much pressure on his shoulders just like Hojlund. We needed to bring in experienced striker for him to learn from. Just shows the senior board members still haven't learnt on the strikers front.
 
Brophs said:
This sort of mirrors where I’m at, albeit without any sort of research. Other than this season, there’s very little in Delap’s career at this point to suggest he becomes a world class no 9, or even close to it. A lot of moves, very few of which have been successful.
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Delap was excellent at youth level. He’s also the only U21 ST in the PL that is a starter other than Højlund. It’s pretty difficult to do that at a young age. He’s also got experience in another physical league (Championship) and has shown he can cope and thrive in the PL with very little service.

I think we need to look at the profile and price and think are we happy he’s an upgrade on Højlund for a good fee that enables us to do other business?

The only player I think is a cast iron guarantee is Isak. I think he’s world class. We also can’t afford him. Isak at Delaps age managed a best of 17 goals in 44 appearances for Real Sociedad before his move to the PL. I’m not at all suggesting they are the same players but I think we need to also consider reality. We’re 14th in the league. Delap would improve that.
 
croadyman said:
OK seeing as you asked here are four

Watkins - He can't be happy with the current situation at Villa and has proven himself

Mbuemo - 18 league goals for Brentford is phenomenal return in my opinion

Mateta - Scored a cracking goal last night and 14 league goals is a very decent return for Palace

Wood - Yes I will admit age is a factor but you can't argue with 19 league goals for Forest

There is no doubt Isak is the boat that we missed, however that applies to most other teams too, in terms of Gyokeres I am convinced he will be joining Arsenal which is frustrating.
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Take away penalties and Mbuemo and Mateta haven't done much more than Delap in more attacking teams.

The other two are too old, Watkins the younger of the two will be 30 before he's even half way through the first year of a massive contract. That isn't going to happen as we're struggling finically.
 
Good grief! This place used to be a great place to come to once we were linked with a player. We'd all ride the rollercoaster of the muppet train until we bring the guy home or the train derailed in disappointment as the transfer fell through.

Nowadays it's like the morbid muppet train of doom and gloom and noone wants to ride that. So many buzzkills in here for each and every target. Too old, too young, overperforming his XG. Bore off!

All doom mongerers are kindly requested to alight at the next stop. For the rest of us. All aboard the muppet train. Choo Choo mo fos!.
 
UnitedSofa said:
Magic money, bloody hell. Calm down, feck me.

We clearly have money. Gyokeres is rumoured to cost around 50M - 60M.

We are going to make sales, I’d be very very surprised if we don’t. We have a few players leaving on free’s - that will free up some money too.

Wages I’m not concerned about, he cannot demand huge wages at all, he doesn’t have much to show for to demand fee close to £200k a week. I think he can demand like around £150k p/w
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If there is even a whiff of interest from Arsenal there is absolutely no way he goes anywhere for less than 250 p/w.

Jesus is on 265k and Havertz 280k and he would would be de demoting them.

Chelsea, Newcastle and Arsenal are all properly interested at the bare minimum and they will be offering him 200k+ p/w seeing as though he would be signing as the star striker which 9 times out of 10 is best paid player at any given club.
 
noelyman said:
Good grief! This place used to be a great place to come to once we were linked with a player. We'd all ride the rollercoaster of the muppet train until we bring the guy home or the train derailed in disappointment as the transfer fell through.

Nowadays it's like the morbid muppet train of doom and gloom and noone wants to ride that. So many buzzkills in here for each and every target. Too old, too young, overperforming his XG. Bore off!

All doom mongerers are kindly requested to alight at the next stop. For the rest of us. All aboard the muppet train. Choo Choo mo fos!.
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Listen I would be all for this IF we didn't have such a closed mind of bringing in experienced striker alongside to help him. That's where my concerns are with this deal, he can probably improve aerially with the right coaching.
 
BenitoSTARR said:
Delap was excellent at youth level. He’s also the only U21 ST in the PL that is a starter other than Højlund. It’s pretty difficult to do that at a young age. He’s also got experience in another physical league (Championship) and has shown he can cope and thrive in the PL with very little service.

I think we need to look at the profile and price and think are we happy he’s an upgrade on Højlund for a good fee that enables us to do other business?

The only player I think is a cast iron guarantee is Isak. I think he’s world class. We also can’t afford him. Isak at Delaps age managed a best of 17 goals in 44 appearances for Real Sociedad before his move to the PL. I’m not at all suggesting they are the same players but I think we need to also consider reality. We’re 14th in the league. Delap would improve that.
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I personally think the likes of Sesko or Ekitike are much better than Delap. But they'd cost double his fee at least.
 
aeh1991 said:
I personally think the likes of Sesko or Ekitike are much better than Delap. But they'd cost double his fee at least.
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Sesko release clause is around 80M Euro based on reporting, Ekitike has no release clause but as Frankfurt don't want to sell and just banked a huge fee for Marmoush it is thought they would not even pick up the phone for less than 100M. Other less sexy options include Moise Kean, currently second highest scorer in Serie A who has a 43M release clause and the old perennial Dusan Vlahovic who has failed to live up to his potential at Juve so might actually be available quite cheap as they really want rid, but then you are gambling over whether he just needs a change of scenery or is he actually really as bad as he looked as the last 2 seasons.
 
aeh1991 said:
I personally think the likes of Sesko or Ekitike are much better than Delap. But they'd cost double his fee at least.
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Possibly, I mean both have terrific physical profiles but again fee wise I’m not sure we’re in that position yet.

Theres also the high chance that their output drops in the PL with Ekitike only on 2 more league goals and Sesko equal on 12 I don’t see the logic in our current situation throwing upward of £50m at any young player like that.

For £20m less we can bring someone in who has managed to score a very respectable number of goals in one of the worst sides in the PL.
 
Put it this way. We can as reported absolutely afford Cunha and Delap.

So let’s say we get both:

Onana
De Ligt Maguire Yoro
Amad Bruno Ugarte Dorgu
Garnacho Cunha
Delap
​
How many goals does that side have in it? I’d argue a lot more than what we currently can do. With each forward player offering a different threat.
 
BenitoSTARR said:
Possibly, I mean both have terrific physical profiles but again fee wise I’m not sure we’re in that position yet.

Theres also the high chance that their output drops in the PL with Ekitike only on 2 more league goals and Sesko equal on 12 I don’t see the logic in our current situation throwing upward of £50m at any young player like that.

For £20m less we can bring someone in who has managed to score a very respectable number of goals in one of the worst sides in the PL.
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I agree with everything. Under current circumstances it makes totally sense to get Delap. Just saying I rate them more / believe they have higher ceiling. Both Sesko and Ekitike will be world class in 2-3 years is what I expect, while Delap seems like a player whose peak could be at Vlahovic level - still great, but not as special as the others. Maybe we could go for an expensive CF in 2 years when we have money and hopefully are more competitive by then.
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
About as exciting a signing as Dorgu I’d say.
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Not at all :lol: Dorgu comes in with no way near the same pedigree. At least Delap has done well in the Premier League with a respectable goal tally. He's also always on his toes, he is aggressive in a front footed approach to take players on and be direct. Dorgu has not done this much (yet).
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
About as exciting a signing as Dorgu I’d say.
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Harsh, he's already a good player.

I'm convinced that most people on this forum have only seen him once or twice. For a young striker he's shown a lot to his game besides an impressive return of 12 goals for a team which is constantly under the cosh.

Quick, aggressive, good link up, rapid, strong and a pressing monster.
 
Highfather_24 said:
His fbref report is....concerning.

Ranks horrendously on number of passes/game etc.
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But he's playing for a team that are constantly under pressure. He's actually pretty decent on the ball.

I think the idea of him and Cunha pressing and running at players very exciting. No more Hojlund and Garnacho.
 
BenitoSTARR said:
Put it this way. We can as reported absolutely afford Cunha and Delap.

So let’s say we get both:

Onana
De Ligt Maguire Yoro
Amad Bruno Ugarte Dorgu
Garnacho Cunha
Delap
​
How many goals does that side have in it? I’d argue a lot more than what we currently can do. With each forward player offering a different threat.
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This would depend hugely on Garnacho starting to play more for the team and less for himself.
 
BenitoSTARR said:
Put it this way. We can as reported absolutely afford Cunha and Delap.

So let’s say we get both:

Onana
De Ligt Maguire Yoro
Amad Bruno Ugarte Dorgu
Garnacho Cunha
Delap
​
How many goals does that side have in it? I’d argue a lot more than what we currently can do. With each forward player offering a different threat.
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Alot more than we do now yes. However still likely a team that is top 6 at best and an injury away from Hojlund up top
 
AngeloHenriquez said:
Not true, Isak, Osmihen & Gyokeres the majority would all take as they are top players.

Ekitike will cost a lot given his experience, that's a fair comment but would be better than Sesko or Delap who are NOT "PL Proven" unless you count Hojlund as "PL Proven", David for the price looks a great buy too.
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Gyokores at the same age as Delap wasn't doing much though. I doubt anyone would have said to look at him when he was just signing for Coventry.
 
Top_Bins said:
This would depend hugely on Garnacho starting to play more for the team and less for himself.
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I mean he’s been playing some good balls into the box more recently. From what Ornstein has said I’m not entirely convinced he’ll even be in the squad. Could be sold.
Cassidy said:
Alot more than we do now yes. However still likely a team that is top 6 at best and an injury away from Hojlund up top
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Zirkzee would probably be ahead of him.

I think it doesn’t make us the best, but it makes us better. I cannot see that sort of side finishing 14th for example.
 
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