- Ipswich were promoted from the Championship to the Premier League in May
- They have made seven signings since, including one from Man City on Saturday
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Ipswich Town have signed a highly-rated youngster from Manchester City.
The Tractor Boys are keen to stick around in the Premier League following their promotion from the Championship last season.
Since it was confirmed that his side were going up, manager Kieran McKenna has signed seven players this summer.
The most recent was 21-year-old striker Liam Delap, who arrived on Saturday in a deal that could end up costing Ipswich as much as £20million.
Ipswich have agreed to pay City £15m up front for Delap plus a possible further £5m in add-ons.
But Delap is not Ipswich’s most expensive signing this summer. That title belongs to 20-year-old Jamaica winger Omari Hutchinson, who joined from Chelsea at the end of June for an initial fee of £20m plus £2.5m in add-ons.
Ipswich have also signed Ben Johnson from West Ham and Jacob Greaves from Hull City, as well as academy recruits Abube Onuchukwu from Aston Villa, Leon Elliott from Crystal Palace and Darragh McCann from Glentoran.
Speaking on itfc.co.uk, Delap said after becoming Ipswich’s seventh signing of the summer: ‘I’m really excited.
‘I have heard so many good things about the feeling around the Club, and how the players and staff work. That’s exactly why I’m excited to be here.
‘The Manager here likes to play exciting football. It’s quick and intense and I am looking forward to that. I want to bring goals and assists and I’ll work as hard as I can to help the team.’
Manager McKenna added: ‘We are delighted to bring Liam to the Club.
‘We think he is a player with the qualities to help the team this season but also to be an important player for the Club for many years to come.
‘He is a player with outstanding physical and technical attributes who has a hunger to come here and continue to learn and improve. He has gained good first-team experience from a young age and we feel he has the potential for development here.’
Delap had been a Man City player since 2019 when he arrived from Derby County.
He scored one goal in six first-team appearances for City. That goal came in September 2020 during a 2-1 win over Bournemouth in the EFL Cup.
Delap was loaned out three times by City – to Stoke, Preston and then Hull. He scored 12 goals in 68 Championship games during those loan spells.
The Winchester-born striker is the son of former Southampton and Stoke midfielder Rory Delap – who played 11 times for the Republic of Ireland at senior international level between 1998 and 2004.
But, unlike his dad, he has so far opted to represent England. He has been capped at U16, U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21 levels, scoring 13 England goals across those age groups.