Man Utd's £30m deal forces Chelsea to consider signing £85m Liverpool target

Enzo Maresca is keen to bring a new striker to Chelsea this summer (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United’s pursuit of Liam Delap – which looks set to be successful – has forced Chelsea to consider a big-money move for a Liverpool and Arsenal target instead.

Enzo Maresca is keen to bring a new striker to Stamford Bridge this summer after a difficult season for the Blues in front of goal.

Nicolas Jackson failed to build on a promising first season at the club, scoring 10 goals in the Premier League, while Christopher Nkunku fared even worse.

Chelsea are one of a number of clubs to express interest in Ipswich Town talisman Delap, who scored 12 goals in a team that finished second from bottom in the Premier League with just four wins from 38 games.

The 22-year-old, the son of former Stoke City defender Rory Delap, has a release clause of £30m now Ipswich have been relegated to the Championship.

Chelsea are interested in activating that buy-out clause but could be forced to look elsewhere for attacking reinforcements as Manchester United are ‘expected’ to win the transfer race, according to The Independent.

Delap is believed to be open to joining the Red Devils despite their disastrous season under Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag.

United are leading the race to sign Liam Delap (Picture: Getty)

United finished just 15th in the Premier League – four places above Delap’s Ipswich – and suffered a deflating defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final.

Amorim reportedly has around £100m to spend on summer signings – on top of any sales – and wants to invest a significant chunk of that on Delap and Matheus Cunha.

Wolves’ Brazilian playmaker Cunha looks set to become Manchester United’s first summer signing after agreeing a five-year deal with the club.

Manchester United are expected to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves (Picture: Getty)

As well as admiring Delap, Chelsea also registered interest in Viktor Gyokeres but Arsenal look best-placed to lure the Swedish striker from Sporting Lisbon.

Gyokeres has enjoyed another sensational season in Portugal, scoring 54 goals in all competitions to take his overall tally to 97 in 102 games for Sporting.

The prospect of missing out on both Delap and Gyokeres has led Chelsea to ‘extensively discuss’ a move for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike.

Hugo Ekitike has attracted interest from the Premier League (Picture: Getty)

The France U21 star scored 15 goals in the Bundesliga this season and another seven in Eintracht’s European and cup campaigns.

Arsenal and Liverpool have both been linked with Ekitike, who Eintracht have admitted could well be sold this summer if their ‘demands are met’.

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Speaking to German outlet Sport1, Eintracht chief Markus Krosche recently said: ‘He’s one of the most interesting strikers on the European market.

‘Hugo has to decide that [his future]. I’m glad we have him. If he decides otherwise, that’s our belief: if a player develops faster than us, then we let him go – as long as our demands are met.’

Ekitike’s current contract with Eintracht runs through to June 2029 but the German club are open to offers this summer.

A stumbling block for Chelsea could be Eintracht’s valuation as they reportedly want around 100m euros (£85m) to part ways with the 22-year-old.

Chelsea are, however, in a solid place financially after Maresca’s side clinched Champions League football on the final day of the season.

A 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest sent Chelsea back into Europe’s top club competition and the Blues could yet end the season with a trophy as they face Real Betis in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday.

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