Newcastle’s £30m move for Liam Delap could now hinge on one key factor - Report

One of Newcastle United’s summer transfer targets is thought to have indicated what his priority will be when making a decision on his next move in the coming weeks.

Significant investment is expected this summer after three quiet windows and a certain attacking target of ours appears to be Liam Delap at Ipswich.

From a PSR perspective, a move could be a no-brainer with a bargain fee attached to the striker - but the 22-year-old is now waiting to assess his options with one ‘priority’ in mind as clubs queue up for his signature.

Delap’s priority revealed 

Toon target Liam Delap is “expected to prioritise European football” when selecting his next club, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

The £30m release clause in the forward’s contract became active when Ipswich’s relegation to the Championship was confirmed as they lost 3-0 at St. James’ Park on Saturday.

Jacobs reports that Newcastle are in the mix, but competing with Chelsea, Manchester United, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen for the striker’s signature.

Man Utd can still qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League, and the forward is waiting until the end of the season to assess all his options with all interested parties willing to meet his £30m release clause.

This once again highlights the importance of securing Champions League football, as this could be a huge advantage over Chelsea should we beat the Blues to a top five finish.

We will know of Delap’s decision early in the window though, with the ex-Manchester City attacker set to decide before he heads to represent England Under-21s at the European Championships in Slovakia on June 11.

Assurances needed with Isak about?

In some ways, Newcastle may be a tricky sell to Liam Delap, who would come to the North East knowing he would be second choice to £150m rated star man Alexander Isak.

Assurances would have to be given in terms of minutes, especially with European football evidently being the driving factor behind Delap’s next move and plenty of competition from across Europe to secure the signing.

Manchester United feels as though it has become a graveyard for promising young forwards with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee totalling seven Premier League goals between them this season.

Delap would definitely fancy his chances of holding down a starting spot in the North West should they manage to get themselves into European football next season - you can’t help but feel he would need guarantees for minutes ahead of Isak if he opted for Newcastle.

But, where better for a young English talent to develop than under Eddie Howe and alongside a number of newly-capped England internationals on Tyneside.