Ipswich Town pulled off masterstroke in £30m Liam Delap sale, Chelsea agreed to ‘very rare’ deal.
Ipswich Town will be without one of their most valuable assets in the Championship next season, and EFL Analysis can exclusively disclose how the club pulled off some outstanding business in the process.
After Ipswich Town was relegated to the Championship after only one season in the top level, Premier League vultures began to circle Portman Road. In the dugout, head coach Kieran McKenna’s future at the Tractor Boys is uncertain with McKenna’s recent ties to the Brentford post, and losing the man who oversaw their two promotions would be a huge blow to their hopes for next season. Before the summer transfer window closed for a week due to the Club World Cup, Chelsea signed Liam Delap for £30 million, with the striker signing a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge. Despite losing their top player, EFL Analysis can reveal that the Ipswich leadership executed a masterstroke during the Delap negotiations with the Blues.
Ipswich Town masterstroke in Liam Delap transfer to Chelsea
During his debut season at Ipswich, Englishman Delap scored 12 goals and provided two assists in 37 games, but he was unable to help McKenna’s team avoid relegation. His goal-scoring ability and potential to become one of the league’s most prolific frontmen prompted Chelsea to pay a £30 million sum for his services, triggering the release clause in his Tractor Boys contract, which was activated following their relegation from the Premier League. It’s about this release clause and the subsequent sell-on price that Ipswich have negotiated with the London club, which has resulted in some excellent business from the club’s hierarchy. In an exclusive interview with EFL Analysis, Chief Football Correspondent Graeme Bailey said: “I thought the Delap transaction was really, really interesting.
“It is extremely rare for a team to negotiate a sell-on clause in a contract when a release clause was sufficient to complete the transfer. “Ipswich included a new sell-on provision, which obviously allowed Chelsea to significantly reduce the sum they were paying in one installment. “Normally, once a release clause is paid, that’s it. If a player has used a release clause, there will be no sell-on cost or any add-ons because that is the entire idea of the release clause: you pay the price and it’s done.
“But, with this one, there were conversations about the transaction and how much Chelsea was paying, and there was a sell-on option included into the agreement. That is extremely rare. Now, Ipswich face the onerous chore of replacing one of English football’s finest promising centre-forward prospects ahead of the Championship season. However, the team must focus on one star striker who has long been a Tractor Boys target.
Emmanuel Latte Lath would be perfect Liam Delap replacement at Ipswich Town
Ipswich have begun to look for Delap’s replacement ahead of the 2025/26 Championship season, with many prospective signings already in the works. However, one name stands out to the Tractor Boys recruitment team as someone the club should pursue this summer following Delap’s move to Chelsea. EFL Analysis exclusively revealed in May that former Middlesbrough forward Emmanuel Latte Lath is looking to return to the Championship just months after leaving Boro, and that Ipswich are interested in signing him following their unsuccessful approach for the Ivorian on deadline day last summer.
| Key statistic | Liam Delap in 24/25 | Emmanuel Latte Lath in 24/25 |
| Games | 37 | 45 |
| Goals | 12 | 16 |
| Assists | 2 | 4 |
Ipswich tried to sign him again in January before he signed with Atlanta United in the MLS for £22.5 million. Latte Lath’s proven goalscoring record in the second division with Boro, along with his rumoured desire to return to English football, prepares the way for Ipswich to finally gain the services of their long-term objective, whose finishing prowess would push them to Premier League promotion next season.
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