Manchester United continue to be linked with a swoop for Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap - as they look to solve their goal-scoring crisis under Ruben Amorim. The Reds have failed to score since returning from March's international break, with Amorim's team drawing blanks against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City. United's lack of goals has been the consistent theme throughout a troubled campaign at Old Trafford and beyond. Current strikers Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have netted just 14 times between them in all competitions. In total, United have found the back of the net 37 times in the Premier League - with only five teams recording fewer. United's problems in front of goal have seen Delap emerge as a proposed solution, with Chelsea also linked. Recent reports in The Guardian have claimed that the Manchester City academy graduate has a £30million release clause in his contract, which activates if the Tractor Boys are relegated from the top-flight. Delap has scored 11 goals for a team who look almost certain for a return to the EFL Championship next term. One person who has followed the frontman's rise at Portman Road closely is Ipswich Town reporter, Alex Jones, for the East Anglian Daily Times. "In somebody who's just turned 22, he ticks a lot of boxes," Jones believes. "There are good finishers or players that are really fast and powerful who might not have all of those things combined, whereas Delap at 22 has all of those, which is a bit of a surprise considering his background and his previous loans, which haven't been amazing. "When it comes to what he does well, it's finishing in a team that has struggled for goals so far this season, a team that has a real lack of experience. God knows where they'd be without him. "Then there's also a lot of stuff that probably goes under the radar - and it's when you see him linked to clubs like United and Chelsea you can see a lot of fans kind of turn their noses up because they look at his background and where he is at the moment. It doesn't appeal, but then you dig deeper and if you watch him a lot, you kind of see the work-rate, the energy, the pressing. "When you talk to him, he doesn't appear the most switched-on. It's really harsh and blunt to say, but his football intelligence is really surprising, the pockets he takes up space, bits like that. Brilliant movement. He's good with cutbacks. Left foot, right foot, brilliant penalty taker, good in the air, wants to battle centre-backs. So those are all of the positives. "In terms of the negatives, since the turn of the calendar year, his form has dipped - for sure. It's picked up in the last couple of games, but his goals have dried up a little bit. I think it is a little bit down to him but, also, Ipswich's form, which has dipped pretty harshly in 2025, so there are kind of consistency question marks. "The only other bit that really stands out to me is sometimes he can be quite hotheaded and get involved in things that he maybe shouldn't. There have been games where he has looked a little bit rattled." It has been quite the transformation for Delap, who came into the campaign with several question marks on his suitability to lead the line for a newly-promoted side. "He wasn't initially going to be Ipswich's first-choice striker," Jones admits. "They originally tried to sign Armando Broja on loan from Chelsea and they had a few other targets in mind. "In the end they decided based, I think, partially on Delap's start to the season, which was really good we might be able to go into a campaign with him being their starter. You look at his goal against Fulham, that will be one of the standouts at Ipswich so far this season. It was a brilliant goal and he grew into the campaign really nicely. "In terms of the system, he has quite a free role, but one where because the attacking line can be quite fluid and flexible, it's kind of a floating number 10, a left winger who stays quite narrow, a right winger who likes to go high and wide. Delap goes into the spaces where he needs to be. "I think [Kieran] McKenna's kind of said to him, don't try and just be purely a striker that is focused on goals. It's obviously your priority, but there are a lot of other aspects to him that I think McKenna has brought out, which obviously helps when you have a high level of footballing IQ. "He's a bit like Harry Kane in a way. Dropping deep, being a good passer, really clever footwork, holding up the ball, things like that." The Tractor Boys look almost-certain to lose their star player this summer. It's a situation they are well aware of, according to Jones, with United and several others in desperate need of a new striker. "Ipswich are aware of the fact Delap is going to attract a lot of interest as there was in January," he explained. "In January, the approach was [Delap was] not [available] for sale under any circumstances. "There is now a realisation that relegation is quite likely, and I think that the club knows that - especially with the relegation - there's not going to be a feasible chance of holding on to him. "The chairman, Mark Ashton has said; 'Look, we're in a good position, we're covered no matter what, so we're happy with what we're going to get out of, whether he stays, whether he goes'. They're definitely confident of getting the right fee."