Yesterday, the EADT and Ipswich Star revealed that the 21-year-old, who had visited Portman Road for negotiations the previous week, was considering his options.

And we can vouch for the accuracy of a claim from David Ornstein, The Athletic’s transfer guru, which states that the Blues and City have reached an agreement for an initial payment of £15 million, with the possibility of add-ons worth up to £20 million. The front man decided to sign with Ipswich instead of Southampton.

Delap, who played for England from the Under-16 to the U21 levels, is reportedly a longtime favourite of Blues manager Kieran McKenna.

As a teenager, Delap earned six professional appearances for City, including two substitute appearances in the Premier League and one appearance in the Champions League. He is a flexible forward who can play wide right or up top.

He’s spent three loan stints in the Championship since then.He scored three goals in 15 starts and eight substitute appearances for Stoke in the first half of 2022–2023. Then, in six starts and one substitute appearance for Preston in the second half of that season, he scored once.

The young player from Hampshire, the son of former Republic of Ireland international Rory Delap, burst into the scene for Hull City the previous season, making 26 starts and six substitute appearances while scoring eight goals.

The third player the Blues are attempting to sign is Delap, who was on Hull’s team the previous season.

It is believed that a deal around £35 million, including add-ons, has been reached with the Tigers for left-handed center-back Jacob Greaves and deft winger Jaden Philogene.Greaves’ relocation to Portman Road is reportedly very far along, while Town hopes to fend off late interest in Philogene from Everton and Aston Villa.

After back-to-back promotions, Ipswich Town has returned to the Premier League for the first time in 22 years. Chief executive Mark Ashton has promised to be “brave and bold” in the transfer market.

So far, the Blues have defeated stiff competition to sign right-back Ben Johnson when his contract at West Ham expired and recruited recent loan sensation Omari Hutchinson for a club-record £18 million from Chelsea.