Ipswich Q&A: Is there a chance Delap could stay?

BBC News

15-05-2025

In part three of Thursday's Ipswich Q&A, our expert Graeme McLoughlin from BBC Radio Suffolk looks to the long-term plan and Liam Delap's future:Gavin: Mark Ashton has talked a lot about the long-term plan. Did the Premier League come a season or two too early in the plan?Graeme: I'm not sure the Premier League can ever come too early. Maybe it came too early in terms of having a realistic chance of staying up this time around, but I very much doubt that Mark Ashton, Kieran McKenna, the Town players and ownership group would opt to spend these last 9 months in the Championship if they could have their time over again. All will have learned majorly from this experience, and I would back the club to be much better prepared for the top flight should a return happen in the not too distant future.AJ: Is there a chance Liam Delap could stay at Ipswich?Graeme: The manager talked about this still being a possibility at a recent pre-match press conference, but if you forced me to call this one way or the other, I'd probably edge towards him leaving. He's hit double figures for goals in his first full season in the Premier League, at a club that have ultimately fallen well short of staying up. Delap has his suitors, and given his release clause, whoever gets his signature won't feel like they've broken the bank. The one thing that gives me the slightest bit of belief that he will stay is his relationship with Kieran McKenna and just how much his game has improved under him. Come on Liam, do the right thing, and help Town get back up at the first attempt!Listen to The Blue Hour with Brenner Woolley every Monday and Matchday Preview with Graeme McLoughlin every Friday, along with live coverage of every Ipswich Town game, home and away, on BBC Radio Suffolk.