Last summer, the Blues signed him from Manchester City for £15 million, with the transaction potentially worth £20 million. He will join Chelsea for £30 million after a relegation clause was triggered. As part of a sell-on clause, Ipswich will have to give City a portion of its £10-15 million earnings, reportedly 30%. Making a profit of £7 million to £10.5 million on a player within a year is not to be taken lightly. However, it is difficult not to consider how much more could have been banked. However, as Town chairman Mark Ashton is quick to point out, there wasn’t an alternative. “I never discuss any player’s unique position, since I’d be breaking every confidentially rule in the book, but I’m going to give you a context to this,” he says, in an exclusive interview with the EADT and Ipswich Star.

Liam Delap scored 12 goals in Ipswich Town’s remarkable inaugural season. “Let’s be clear: when you sign players from a Premier League football club as a freshly promoted Premier League football team, young or old, they are quite concerned about being stranded in a Championship club. Because the statistics suggest that freshly promoted clubs frequently drop back down. Contracts are always highly negotiated. “The fact is that when a high-profile player is coveted by multiple clubs, you are provided with a term sheet that states, ‘those are the terms for the club’ and ‘those are the terms for the player’.

“You’re told, ‘If you want to talk to the player and pitch to sign him, you must agree to those terms because if you don’t, six other clubs will’. We speak with other clubs, we know the market, and we know those are not lies. “There is very little to negotiate. You either take it or leave it. “At that moment, our relationships allow us to nibble at the edges of those agreements, to bend and twist them until we reach the best version possible. “That’s a fact. That is just the reality of where you are. You’ve gone from being a large fish in a little to medium pond, to being a big fish in the Atlantic Ocean.”

Liam Delap appears ready to reunite with his old Manchester City junior coach, Enzo Maresca, at Chelsea. The Europa Conference League champions are gearing up for the Club World Cup and next season’s Champions League. When asked about Delap’s contract stipulations in March, Ashton asserted that the club was’very, very, very well protected’. The £30 million relegation release provision was not widely known until later. When asked to clarify the statement, he answered, “You protect yourself to the best of your ability.”

“The board and key stockholders are aware of what you’re getting into. That means that if you sell the player, you will break the football club’s sales record. “And, remember, I’m not talking about any individual player here; when that player moves on, you maintain a percentage of his future profit as well. You are protected. “With all of our guys, we know where they are. The owners know where their cash flows are. Overall, you must approach it with an investment banker’s mindset.

According to Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton, the relegation release clause in Liam Delap’s contract was a ‘take it or leave it’ situation. “As I have stated, I believe a couple of players will depart the club this summer, but not a large number. One (Delap) has received extensive media coverage; we have not. I suppose if I were an Ipswich supporter, I’d be annoyed by how much has been in the press, but when things are in the press, especially the nationals, it’s because agencies or other clubs are attempting to unsettle players, establish markets for players, and so on.

“So all I can say to the fans is that we’ve been as open and honest as possible since joining this football club. Every move we make serves the best interests of this football club, but we must deal with the market as it is. This football club will always be safeguarded as it moves on.” So, just to be clear, does this indicate that Ipswich will receive a hefty sell-on fee if Delap makes a big money move in the future? “Again, I’m going to take the word ‘Liam’ out of it because I’ll get myself into world of trouble,” reacts Ashton. “However, that is a normal clause that we would negotiate into contracts.

“Let us be clear: we are not flawless, but we know what we are doing. It’s annoying because you can’t tell your fans everything. If they knew everything, believe me, they would see it quite differently. “But this fan base again have been very trusting, very supportive and we will fight tooth and nail for this football club.”

A little Ipswich Town fan is pictured wearing a Liam Delap replica shirt. The striker will leave after only one season with the club.

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