Man Utd told they should have ‘concern’ about signing Chelsea and Arsenal transfer target

Darren Bent says Manchester United signing another inexperienced striker in Liam Delap should be a ‘concern’ considering the difficult time Rasmus Hojlund has had at the club.

Delap, 22, has earned himself plenty of admirers across an eye-catching debut season with Ipswich having left Manchester City for Portman Road last summer.

An impressive return of 12 goals and two assists have not been enough to save Ipswich from the drop, but the 22-year-old has proven himself to be a handful for opposition defences throughout the campaign.

The likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle are all believed to be eyeing a bid for Delap ahead of the summer transfer window, with the England Under-21 international available for a fee of just £30million due to a relegation clause in his contract.

The latest reports suggest United are in pole position to wrap up a deal, though, and the forward is believed to be keen on the idea of returning to Manchester, despite his previous ties to City.

However, ex-England, Tottenham and Ipswich striker Bent believes United first need to bring in an ‘older statesman’ before taking another gamble on a relatively unproven No.9.

‘You’re talking about 16 Premier League goals between them: four for Rasmus and 12 for Liam,’ Bent told talkSPORT.

‘Listen, I’m a big fan of his [Delap]. Watching him week in, week out, of course he’s improved so much and the confidence that he’s got in his own ability, the confidence he’s got to go up against anybody. He doesn’t care who it is, he won’t get overawed by anyone.

‘What you don’t want is to have two young centre-forwards. This is his first full season in the Premier League.

‘To go from Ipswich, who were in the Championship last season, to Manchester United and be expected to lead the line and score the goals…

‘It might work. I think he’s got the confidence within himself to do it but there’s going to be dips in his form, goal droughts, and that’s where you need maybe that older statesman to learn from.’

According to Bent, United would ‘almost be making the same mistake again’ if they captured Delap before adding greater experience to their frontline.

‘To have two [young centre-forwards], that would be a little bit of a concern for me because we’ve seen Rasmus, this season, really struggle in the Premier League and have no one to lean on for that bit of advice or confidence,’ he added.

‘Then, if you add Liam Delap as well, you’re almost making the same mistake again, even though it’s not a mistake as they’re both good players.

‘But I think you need a more experienced centre-forward and then you bring in maybe a Liam Delap.’

Bent would not blame Delap if the forward went on to sign for United given it is an opportunity that may not come around again.

He continued: ‘It’s about opportunities so he might look at Chelsea and go, “Nicolas Jackson is probably going to play more than I am, I’m not quite sure with the Kai Havertz situation at Arsenal..”

‘But he’s probably looking at United and going, “They’re a top club and I’m up against Hojlund”, so he’s obviously going to fancy himself to play games there.

‘Either way, it’s a great opportunity to go to Manchester United and it doesn’t come around often.’

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