Liam Delap | £30m release clause?

Apokalips said:
Not sure I'd call Hojlund a raw talent, because it is hard to see great talent. He's a raw footballer but doesn't show enough to be a talent. Garnacho is a raw talent, he shows things which, if refined, would make him a top player but Hojlund is invisible on the pitch. Nothing Amorim can do will just magically change that, but I guess we can chalk Amorim up as another external party whose fault it is that Hojlund is not up to scratch.
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I think Hojlund and Garnacho shouldn't start together in any games. They have absolutely no chemistry. Garnacho is full of talent, but only works for himself and not the team, far too greedy and until he matures and addresses this, he'll never reach his full potential.

Rasmus may not be good enough, but he sure as hell doesn't have a chance with Garnacho ignoring him every game.

We need to bring in 2/3 experienced 25-27 year olds in the midfield/attacking positions to truely help the young lads progress and fulfill the potential that they have.
 
Steve Bruce said:
I think Hojlund and Garnacho shouldn't start together in any games. They have absolutely no chemistry. Garnacho is full of talent, but only works for himself and not the team, far too greedy and until he matures and addresses this, he'll never reach his full potential.

Rasmus may not be good enough, but he sure as hell doesn't have a chance with Garnacho ignoring him every game.

We need to bring in 2/3 experienced 25-27 year olds in the midfield/attacking positions to truely help the young lads progress and fulfill the potential that they have.
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Didn’t Garnacho send across a few inviting crosses that Rasmus couldn’t connect with or was that another player? Not to mention finding Mount and I think it was Bruno with a few cutbacks.

Generally I would agree with you but the Wolves game is a match I actually thought Garnacho was trying to supply his team mates more.

Think Delap would love Garnacho, both are relentless and they don’t hide on the pitch.
 
SoCross said:
Didn’t Garnacho send across a few inviting crosses that Rasmus couldn’t connect with or was that another player? Not to mention finding Mount and I think it was Bruno with a few cutbacks.

Generally I would agree with you but the Wolves game is a match I actually thought Garnacho was trying to supply his team mates more.

Think Delap would love Garnacho, both are relentless and they don’t hide on the pitch.
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I'm judging over the season, not in a single game. No problems are solved by judging a player over 1 game one way or another. If what Garnacho tried to do vs Wolves becomes more of his game, then he will be a much better player, but only time/games can tell if that will be the case.

On Rasmus, his confidence is shot to shit. People forget that he is just recently turned 22 and has arrived at United at the worst possible time. He wasn't ready to lead the line at United but he has been put in that position and it has done him no favours whatsover. Unfortunately I don't think he'll make it at United, it is far to much to soon for him and United and Rasmus needed an experienced top striker to arrive alongside him to give him a chance of success IMO.

If Delap signs, I'll give him a chance like I would any new signing. So I hope if he does sign, that I am eating humble pie, I just think he is a couple of levels below of what we should be aiming for.
 
DOTA said:
He seems to be very middling in terms of headers won for his position and none of his league goals this year were scored with his head.
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I’ve just done a bit of digging on WhoScored, and here’s a breakdown of the aerial duels for the strikers we've been linked with, compared to Hojlund:

Hojlund
  • Total aerial duels: 101
  • Won: 21
  • Lost: 80
Delap
  • Total aerial duels: 117
  • Won: 53
  • Lost: 64
Gyokeres
  • Total aerial duels: 58
  • Won: 32
  • Lost: 26
Osimhen
  • Total aerial duels: 117
  • Won: 70
  • Lost: 47

As you can see, Osimhen stands out by a considerable margin, with a much higher success rate. However, some might argue that this comparison isn’t entirely fair, given the different leagues they play in. That said, he’s always been known for his aerial dominance. What’s most surprising here, though, is Hojlund’s stats. I didn’t expect his aerial record to be that bad.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
I’ve just done a bit of digging on WhoScored, and here’s a breakdown of the aerial duels for the strikers we've been linked with, compared to Hojlund:

Hojlund
  • Total aerial duels: 101
  • Won: 21
  • Lost: 80
Delap
  • Total aerial duels: 117
  • Won: 53
  • Lost: 64
Gyokeres
  • Total aerial duels: 58
  • Won: 32
  • Lost: 26
Osimhen
  • Total aerial duels: 117
  • Won: 70
  • Lost: 47

As you can see, Osimhen stands out by a considerable margin, with a much higher success rate. However, some might argue that this comparison isn’t entirely fair, given the different leagues they play in. That said, he’s always been known for his aerial dominance. What’s most surprising here, though, is Hojlund’s stats. I didn’t expect his aerial record to be that bad.
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I have been one of Hojlund's bigger boosters but I would actually say I am surprised he is even winning 1 in 5 when it comes to aerial duels. His lack of any ability in the air is one of his most glaring issues.

Osimehn is a big unit and very much an old school CF so not surprising stats there, Ornstein has though reported he is likely off to Saudi in the summer and most PL clubs are apparently operating as though it is a done deal which further reduces the already small pool of options we are all fighting over. Osimehn being off the table makes Gyokeres to Arsenal that much more likely and that is probably playing a part in our decision to be decisive in going for Delap before the music stops and we are left with nothing.
 
Gandalf said:
I have been one of Hojlund's bigger boosters but I would actually say I am surprised he is even winning 1 in 5 when it comes to aerial duels. His lack of any ability in the air is one of his most glaring issues.

Osimehn is a big unit and very much an old school CF so not surprising stats there, Ornstein has though reported he is likely off to Saudi in the summer and most PL clubs are apparently operating as though it is a done deal which further reduces the already small pool of options we are all fighting over. Osimehn being off the table makes Gyokeres to Arsenal that much more likely and that is probably playing a part in our decision to be decisive in going for Delap before the music stops and we are left with nothing.
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That’s true, but there are definitely other high-quality strikers likely to be available in the summer, such as Ekitike and Sesko. Both have been on the radar of top clubs for a while, though the big question is how much they’ll cost.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
That’s true, but there are definitely other high-quality strikers likely to be available in the summer, such as Ekitike and Sesko. Both have been on the radar of top clubs for a while, though the big question is how much they’ll cost.
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Yeah that will be the deciding factor
 
croadyman said:
Yeah that will be the deciding factor
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Sesko has a release clause that starts at 70M Euro but is on a sliding scale where it can increase depending on his performance, considering he is having a good season it is safe to assume it is increasing and most reports seem to support a price of 80M if he does decide to move in this window. Ekiteke does not have a release clause and with Marmoush having moved for big money in January Frankfurt are under no pressure to sell and want to keep him for next season, their asking price to even consider a sale this summer apparently starts at 100M. Neither is a cheap alternative as both Gyokeres and Osimhen are available for less although for obvious reasons we may not be the preferred destination for either of those names.
 
FrankDrebin said:
Evan Ferguson was clearly showing signs of being a very promising forward but he was absolutely buggered by that ligament injury, which ruled him out for 6 months.
He's naturally had a hard time recapturing his early form.

I feel like people never bring up the fact he was out of the game for a lengthy spell and how that's been detrimental in his progression.
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And has still only just turned 20. I certainly wouldn’t rule him out of having a good career yet.
 
Top attacking target according to Whitwell on Talk of The Devils podcast, was hoping it would be Osimhen but doesn't look like it
 
croadyman said:
Top attacking target according to Whitwell on Talk of The Devils podcast, was hoping it would be Osimhen but doesn't look like it
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Yeah more than one journo has said that. It just makes sense with the model INEOS are trying to implement. The glazer/Woodward/Arnold days of spunking huge amounts of money on players in the prime years seems to be over. Plus we can't or won't pay those sort of wages anymore.
 
dinostar77 said:
Yeah more than one journo has said that. It just makes sense with the model INEOS are trying to implement. The glazer/Woodward/Arnold days of spunking huge amounts of money on players in the prime years seems to be over. Plus we can't or won't pay those sort of wages anymore.
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According to Whitwell I believe, we want 2 strikers, so can see Delap and Gyokeres myself.
 
I am not a fan of him personally and I have huge reservations about whether his ceiling is high enough to ever lead the line at United, but the links aren't going away. The only situation where I could tolerate signing him would be if we receive a surprisingly good fee for Hojlund in the summer, then sign Delap for 30m plus Gyokeres for 60m. This scenario would however mean we'd have less funds to spend on other problem positions, so that's not ideal.

My preference would be for us to sign Gyokeres and stay well clear of Delap. He may score a few more goals than our current strikers, but in my opinion we'd just be signing another player who won't ever be good enough to help close the gap to the top teams. If we're intent on signing 2 strikers this summer then hopefully one of them is a free transfer.
 
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UnitedSofa said:
According to Whitwell I believe, we want 2 strikers, so can see Delap and Gyokeres myself.
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I think that is counting Cunha as one of the two although he would more likely play the 10 in our system.

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:
My preference would be for us to sign Gyokeres and stay well clear of Delap. He may score a few more goals than our current strikers, but in my opinion we'd just be signing another player who won't ever be good enough to help close the gap to the top teams. If we're intent on signing 2 strikers this summer then hopefully one of them is a free transfer.
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I would prefer Gyokeres too but it increasingly looks as though he is headed to Arsenal and the only consolation seems to be that Amorim seems not to be too fussed so maybe he knows something we don't.
 
Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:
I am not a fan of him personally and I have huge reservations about whether his ceiling is high enough to ever lead the line at United, but the links aren't going away. The only situation where I could tolerate signing him would be if we receive a surprisingly good fee for Hojlund in the summer, then sign Delap for 30m plus Gyokeres for 60m. This scenario would however mean we'd have less funds to spend on other problem positions, so that's not ideal.

My preference would be for us to sign Gyokeres and stay well clear of Delap. He may score a few more goals than our current strikers, but in my opinion we'd just be signing another player who won't ever be good enough to help close the gap to the top teams. If we're intent on signing 2 strikers this summer then hopefully one of them is a free transfer.
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Yeah I definitely can't get away from that naggling feeling it's another Hojlund situation where the step up is too big for him to lead the line. Why can't the club learn from their previous mistake and sign someone more proven
 
Steve Bruce said:
I'm judging over the season, not in a single game. No problems are solved by judging a player over 1 game one way or another. If what Garnacho tried to do vs Wolves becomes more of his game, then he will be a much better player, but only time/games can tell if that will be the case.

On Rasmus, his confidence is shot to shit. People forget that he is just recently turned 22 and has arrived at United at the worst possible time. He wasn't ready to lead the line at United but he has been put in that position and it has done him no favours whatsover. Unfortunately I don't think he'll make it at United, it is far to much to soon for him and United and Rasmus needed an experienced top striker to arrive alongside him to give him a chance of success IMO.

If Delap signs, I'll give him a chance like I would any new signing. So I hope if he does sign, that I am eating humble pie, I just think he is a couple of levels below of what we should be aiming for.
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22 is young but not that young. At his age and with over 100 appearances in senior football I'd expect a striker (starter or back up) to have shown far more than he has.
UnitedSofa said:
According to Whitwell I believe, we want 2 strikers, so can see Delap and Gyokeres myself.
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I'd imagine it almost definitely would mean the end of Hojlund, but it's hard to see how we could do anything other than take a massive loss on him.
 
CF is clearly the biggest problem in our squad imo. I believe we should aim for the best striker we could get from the market, and I don't think it is this guy. We don't have 30m to be gambling with, unless we are signing two strikers.
 
UnitedSofa said:
According to Whitwell I believe, we want 2 strikers, so can see Delap and Gyokeres myself.
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Delap wont go anywhere where he isnt the starting no9. I wouldnt if i was in his shoes.

Two strikers makes sense, i presume its 2 if we sell hojilund? otherwise its one?
 
Could be wrong but I don't massively see the hype with delap or dibbling. Both strike me as being rated because not much great talent is brought up within the league and these are highly rated.
 
I'd rather have a striker has managed to scored quite a few goals this season in a likely to be relegated team who will get a lot more chances to score at United than a striker who in Osimhen who is probably a more expensive gamble while also considering strikers coming from Serie A (via Turkey) to the Premier League have hardly done too well in recent years.
 
dinostar77 said:
Delap and Cunha? since we have two tweets on Cunha thread that we are trying to agree terms.

Cunha can play 10 and 9
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Hardly the stuff dreams are made of but hey ho. Was hoping for Cherki and one of Osimhen/Gyökeres. At least we are adressing the right positions I guess...
 
Godfather said:
As our leading striker in a team that screams for goals? Not sure. That's huge pressure on him.
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Its huge pressure but he has what, 12 goals for a relegated team in the PL. Hel come in on much better pedigree than Dorgu, and he will probably be joined by Cunha or another forward who can be a striker.

Unless we are going to sign an established LWB, he's not going to be near the gamble Dorgu was and still is.
 
This is just where UTD are. We sign average or above average players but not world class.
If thats the route we are going then its gonna be ages before we win another league title or UCL
City are going to spend in the summer. Arsenal are going after Gyokeres. Chelsea will spend. We can't be serious about closing the talent gap with the likes of Delap. Eventually you will need to sign world class if you want to be the best team in the world
 
VP89 said:
Its huge pressure but he has what, 12 goals for a relegated team in the PL. Hel come in on much better pedigree than Dorgu, and he will probably be joined by Cunha or another forward who can be a striker.

Unless we are going to sign an established LWB, he's not going to be near the gamble Dorgu was and still is.
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That's true and if Zirkzee develops the way he has the last couple of weeks he can start as the 9 as well if nothing else works I guess. Was just hoping for a more established goalscorer. This team screams out for one.
 
Godfather said:
That's true and if Zirkzee develops the way he has the last couple of weeks he can start as the 9 as well if nothing else works I guess. Was just hoping for a more established goalscorer. This team screams out for one.
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Yeah the lack of not focusing on a established goalscorer is worrying to say the least. The fact INEOS see him as top target over Osimhen/Gyokeres even IF we win Europa is totally bizarre.
 
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oreon said:
This is just where UTD are. We sign average or above average players but not world class.
If thats the route we are going then its gonna be ages before we win another league title or UCL
City are going to spend in the summer. Arsenal are going after Gyokeres. Chelsea will spend. We can't be serious about closing the talent gap with the likes of Delap. Eventually you will need to sign world class if you want to be the best team in the world
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Catastrophising 101
 
Adtshepherd said:
Could be wrong but I don't massively see the hype with delap or dibbling. Both strike me as being rated because not much great talent is brought up within the league and these are highly rated.
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Dibling looks more exciting on the ball and could feasibly become the star player of a team fighting for European football, whereas Delap strikes me as having a lower ceiling. If Dibling had a 30m release clause then I don't think you'd see the same reluctance from as many people on the caf as you are seeing with Delap. It was the rumours of Southampton putting a ridiculous transfer valuation on Dibling a few weeks ago that has put people off.
 
I have no problem at all if we sign younger players with the aim of developing them/transforming them/establishing them as world class talents. There's merit to that thought process. However, in order to do that, you need the facilities, the right coaching staff, the expertise, the plan, the patience, and the talented players already at the club for these youngsters to learn off.

He's the type of signing that would do well in an already perfectly-run machine. We're not there yet. Nowhere near, in fact.
 
Superunknown said:
I have no problem at all if we sign younger players with the aim of developing them/transforming them/establishing them as world class talents. There's merit to that thought process. However, in order to do that, you need the facilities, the right coaching staff, the expertise, the plan, the patience, and the talented players already at the club for these youngsters to learn off.

He's the type of signing that would do well in an already perfectly-run machine. We're not there yet. Nowhere near, in fact.
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Exactly, like many have said I would be completely behind this deal if we already had a proven striker for him to learn from, however that's not the case.

Maybe if he had numbers around Mbuemo who has 18 league goals I also might have more belief in his capabilities. Mind you it's unfair to score that for team soon to be relegated.
 
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oreon said:
This is just where UTD are. We sign average or above average players but not world class.
If thats the route we are going then its gonna be ages before we win another league title or UCL
City are going to spend in the summer. Arsenal are going after Gyokeres. Chelsea will spend. We can't be serious about closing the talent gap with the likes of Delap. Eventually you will need to sign world class if you want to be the best team in the world
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I am guessing the team are aware of this but the realization has come a little too late as we genuinely are broke and not just crying wolf this time. We are a PLC and our accounts are public so it is no secret that we are losing money at an unsustainable rate and our cash on hand is as low as it has ever been. I am afraid that not only is the Delap + Cunha news the truth but that it is also the plan based on us getting CL football through winning the EL and there is an even less appetizing option should we fail to get into Europe.
 
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