Rio Ferdinand has described Liam Delap as a ‘wonderful young player’ but believes his decision to join Chelsea could be a blessing in disguise for Manchester United.
United expressed interest in signing Delap from relegated Premier League side Ipswich Town, with Ruben Amorim keen to bolster his attacking options this summer.
Delap, who scored 12 goals in the Premier League last season, was interested in joining the Red Devils despite their alarming fall from grace but ultimately decided to join Chelsea instead.
Chelsea qualifying for the Champions League on the final day of the season was reportedly a key factor in Delap’s decision, with United finishing just 15th in the Premier League and failing to qualify for any European competition.
Ferdinand says Delap has ‘huge potential’ but admits he is not too bothered that the striker, the son of ex-Stoke City defender Rory, will not be arriving at Old Trafford.
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The Manchester United legend does want a new striker to arrive at the club this summer but wants that player to have more experience than Delap, who has made just 39 Premier League appearances.
‘I think Liam Delap is a wonderful young player with huge potential,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
‘But I felt him coming to United now would be the wrong fit for both him and the club. United need experience, not another young centre forward.
‘I’ve always said, young centre forwards coming to big clubs like United need to learn from experienced players. We’ve seen it with someone like [Wayne] Rooney learning from more experienced players.
‘That always needs to happen and United are in a position where we have Chido [Obi-Martin], a young forward, one of the best young strikers about at the moment.
‘We’ve got [Rasmus] Hojlund who’s been there for two years and what a vulnerable place that’s been. He’s had no one to lean on in that position or to look at for an example.
‘He hasn’t had that man and that’s a big worry for me. If you invest £75m in a player you need to put the things around him to let him grow and he hasn’t had that.
‘This is no slight on Liam Delap, who looks like he’s going Chelsea. But Manchester United need to go and get an experienced striker to help the current forwards they’ve got at the club.’
After missing out on Delap, Manchester United could intensify their interest in Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres or Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
Gyokeres appears closer to joining Arsenal at this stage, however, while Osimhen is considering a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia.
United have held talks to sell or loan out Hojlund but will only sanction his departure if and when they bring in a new goalscorer.
The Manchester giants are open to offloading several other players, including Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Antony.
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