Liam Delap transfer: £29.5m twist emerges in West Ham bid to sign striker

Manchester City have a £29.5 million buy back clause for West Ham target Liam Delap, according to the Sunday Mirror.

The report in the newspaper's print edition (page 69, 2 February) mentions the Hammers as one of several parties that are keen on the 21-year-old.

It states that Manchester United have joined the race for the Ipswich striker's signature but their local rivals have the advantage due to the clause that was inserted when they sold him last summer.

The report also names Chelsea and Tottenham among the clubs that are monitoring the forward's situation at Portman Road.

West Ham desperate for a striker

The Hammers are desperate for attacking reinforcements in the winter transfer window with new manager Graham Potter needing more firepower to salvage their season.

Summer signing Niclas Fullkrug, Michail Antonio, and Jarrod Bowen are all out of action for the foreseeable future.

The interest in Delap is no surprise given the fact that he scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season in the 2-1 loss against Southampton on 1 February.

It is hard to imagine that the Irons can secure a deal for the England Under-21 international given the interest from clubs that are higher in the food chain.

However, it is encouraging that they are in the race for his signature, it shows that officials from the East London club know that they need an attacker.

Failure to sign a forward would be a catastrophic error and put heavy pressure on the ownership from the London Stadium club's supporters.

In other West Ham news, a Hammers youth ace has agreed a deal to leave the East London club.

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