Champions League football; the chance to play alongside Cole Palmer; the youngest squad in the Premier League. They were three of the reasons that helped Chelsea win the race to sign Liam Delap.

Manchester United, Everton, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle all showed strong interest in the England Under-21 striker after a £30m release clause was activated following Ipswich's relegation from the Premier League.

Manchester City had a buy-back option after selling Delap for £20m last summer, but opted not to use it.

Earlier this month, Delap was given permission by Ipswich to speak to several interested clubs.

Over the past week it became evident the choice was between Manchester United and Chelsea, but the Blues' final-day victory over Nottingham Forest - which confirmed Champions League qualification - proved a deciding factor.

Interested parties were told a week ago that the 22-year-old had made his decision, and he was spotted at Stansted Airport that evening before a medical.

He is now likely to join up with his new club for the inaugural summer Club World Cup - instead of playing for England at the European Under-21 Championship.

Delap has been a key target for Chelsea all season and it is understood co-owner Behdad Eghbali met David Manasseh, the player's key agent, in Dubai. Eghbali even expressed his fondness for the player to Chelsea fans in Wroclaw before the Conference League final.

Head coach Enzo Maresca also pitched directly to Delap - as did at least one other manager - in face-to-face talks once Ipswich granted permission.

Delap has been impressed with Chelsea's style of play and feels the club will be a good fit. He was also urged to make the move by several former City academy graduates he will join at Stamford Bridge - such as Jadon Sancho, Romeo Lavia, Tosin Adarabioyo and Palmer.

Maresca worked with Delap in City's elite development squad, while Chelsea's key recruiter Joe Shields is also known to have a good relationship with the player and his family, and academy director Glenn van der Kraan is one of several other connections between the two Premier League clubs.

Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna also retains good relations with the Chelsea hierarchy after being interviewed for their manager's job last summer.

And he will hope that helps in a potential move for striker Marc Guiu, who interests Ipswich as a loan replacement for Delap.

The 19-year-old Spaniard scored six goals in 14 appearances for Chelsea this season but has missed most of 2025 with a muscle injury. He returned as a late substitute during the Conference League final in Wroclaw.

What next for Man Utd?

As ever with these situations, Manchester United can draw a positive out of a negative.

They felt earlier last week it was coming towards the end game in their pursuit of Delap, and it was between them and Chelsea. Now they know they have lost out.

The positive is, with the decision made, they can move on. That is in stark contrast to 2022, when then manager Erik ten Hag delayed for months in a fruitless attempt to sign Frenkie de Jong and United ended up panicking at the end of the transfer window and spent £150m on Casemiro and Antony.

But that does not answer the pertinent question: who now?

Delap fitted their template of an improving, hungry young player, with scope to reach a high standard - at a set fee.

Rasmus Hojlund - who is four days younger than Delap - fitted the same criteria, apart from the last one. And it has not worked out.

Nothing I have seen on their post-season trip to Asia makes me feel United have the answer to their goalscoring issues within the club. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

The 'safe' but expensive options are Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo and Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta. But Mateta is 27 and Mbeumo will be at the Africa Cup of Nations for a month with Cameroon.

After that, it is a risk.

Former United striker Danny Welbeck scored 10 goals in the Premier League at the age of 34. Is there any merit in bringing him back and taking some of the pressure off Hojlund - or has Ruben Amorim concluded the 22-year-old Denmark international will never be good enough?

If so, it is back to Europe to sign another promising forward with no guarantee it will work.

Moyes and Everton impressed

Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Everton also showed interest in Delap.

It is understood the pitch by Everton and Moyes made a positive impression on Delap, but the club always understood they were underdogs.

Before the penultimate fixture of the season against Ipswich at Goodison Park, Moyes said: "We would certainly be interested if he was interested in us."

After the game, Everton fans did their best to persuade Delap to join them at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium - despite a hostile reception following run-ins with Jake O'Brien and Jarrad Branthwaite.

Supporters urged him to move to Merseyside as he visited 37 Goodison Road - a house across from the stadium which has a wall featuring footballers' signatures.

Ultimately, though, the lure of Champions League football means he plumped for Chelsea.