With five Premier League matches that are left this season, Ipswich Town are intended for the drop.
If they were losing from Newcastle on Saturday, the tractor boys will be returned to the championship.
And that will almost guarantee the departure of popular attacker Liam Delap in the midst of interest from some of the top clubs of England.
Delap came to Ipswich from Manchester City last summer for just £ 20 million.
And he will become available for only £ 30 million when the tractor boys go off thanks to a relegation clause.
The 22-year-old has managed this period 14 target contributions in 32 Premier League matches.
And his impressive form has attracted an interest in Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in the past year.
But which club would suit him best? Sunsport has looked at what makes him so good and what he would bring for each team.
Movement of the last line
It is fair to say that the performance and output we have seen for Ipswich this season have surprised many people.
He spent the previous campaign on loan with Hull City in the championship and although he played well, he did not suggest his form that he would conquer the Premier League Stormanderhand in the way he has.
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One of the biggest surprises for many is the movement that Delap has shown on the last rule to create space and separation for themselves.
When Ipswich attacks, we often see Delap covered by two or three defenders.
But he makes routine smart runs that give him the benefit of the opposition.
His movement is very intelligent, but it is the timing of these runs that really has an impact and enables Delap to create space for himself.
In the example above we see a smart movement of Delap, where he creates the attack for the first time before he times his arrival in space to end up comfortably.
He picks up the ball and drives forward before he releases it wide.
The attacker then goes into the space to pick up the cross and finish the first time.
The club that would benefit the most from this specific part of Delap's profile is Chelsea.
The blues have seen their shape in the second half of the season diving dramatically and suffered with that Cole Palmer.
To get the best out of Palmer, Chelsea has to add a striker with the Delap movement profile.
The former MAN City star can try smart runs to get the most out of the quality passes that we usually see from Palmer.
By adding a striker with Delap's profile to their team for next season, Chelsea will take a player with the presence, athletics and intelligent movement to really help them break down teams in a deeper defensive block.
Delap would of course push back defensive lines and offer Palmer space to go behind, but he is also able to receive and link the piece around him.
Chelsea has to add a modern profile of Spits for next season and Delap must be high on their list.
Intelligent movement in the area
Modern strikers that thrive on running and attacking space behind the line of defense often struggle with their movement in tighter spaces, including the penalty area.
This is not the case with Delap.
One of the most interesting aspects of its development with Ipswich this season has been with his movement to create separation within the opposition punishment area.
He has developed into an instinctive striker with excellent timing when he is looking for balls in the area.
Delap has the traditional size and shape of a goalkeeper and as such you would expect that he is strong in attacking crosses.
It is his movement, anticipation and the timing of his first move, although it really makes it effective in the area.
He makes strong runs about the defender to attack the space and tends to get to the cross at the right time.
In the example above, Delap is initially insulated as the only Ipswich player in the Aston Villa -Penalty area.
While the ball is being worked wide, the man shifts the ball in possession and drives over a good low cross.
As soon as the broad player began to shift his feet, Delap read the intention with a smart run over the face of the defender to end the goalkeeper.
From the top teams that are linked to Delap It's Arsenal who would benefit the most from adding a player to this profile.
The Gunners generate a large number of crosses, but their striker options are not good enough to take advantage.
The will of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus – when they were fit – rarely get the most out of these opportunities.
If Arsenal would add a striker like Delap to really attack the ball and show smart movement, then crossing the volume that they generate is used much better.
The semi-finalists of the Champions League do not need a striker to offer value in the build-up but they do need someone who can end.
Here we see a moment when Arsenal has worked the ball in a strong position. Havertz is the striker who wants to attack the cross, but the timing of his run is too early, so that the opposition fever can respond and block the final shot.
Arsenal has one striking gap in their team and that is at the NO9 position.
They have to add an option in that area this summer and a domestic option such as Delap should appeal to their best buyer.
Pace to stretch the field
One of the striking things about Delap this year has been his strength in attacking the space behind defensive lines.
For the most part, Ipswich has confronted with teams with more possession of the ball and as such the opposition has pushed their defense higher.
This in turn meant that Ipswich generally had room to prevent the attack with more direct passes, giving Delap into space.
In the modern game, more and more teams are looking for long and powerful strikers that have the pace and the ability to run behind and force the opposition to defend in space.
That fits nicely with Delap's profile. He can stretch the space and cause real danger to his team when they try to attack quickly from deeper areas.
In this match, Delap showed his ability to peel the defender to create space for himself before they quickly made runs to attack the space.
His teammates know that they can take the ball into possession and then fit quickly to leave him in space.
Man Utd, under Ruben Amorim, urgently needs a striker that fits this profile.
They thought they already had this in Rasmus Hojlund, but although Delap shown real development in his game this season, it would be honest to say that Hojlund has deteriorated.
Indeed, when you look at United Play, they clearly miss a forward player who can be effective to run the channels and give them an option to attack the line behind the line of defense.
This enables opposition teams to press the game and play higher, making it more difficult for United to effectively build their attack.
We see an example of this as United a direct pass in the canal to release Hojlund. However, he does not have the power or pace to get the best out of the chance and lets two men -city players catch him.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that Delap will be on the move this summer.
There is no value for the player or for Ipswich to keep the striker in the championship for a season.
The only question is where he is going?
Although he would undoubtedly benefit Arsenal and United, Chelsea could win the most by landing the man as a future English star.
It can be said that Delap could be the player to help click things for Chelsea and bring them to the next level.
If he can absolutely get the best out of Cole Palmer, and vice versa, the blues will certainly return to their absolute best.
