Chelsea risk being held to ransom in £40m Man Utd transfer battle as stern warning issued

have been warned that signing striker Liam Delap will be a hugely difficult task, even if the Tractor Boys are relegated from the . Delap has been one of the few bright sparks at Portman Road this season, chipping in with 10 league goals in 28 appearances. His impressive form has led to growing speculation that he could join a bigger club in the summer.

have already been linked with the forward, who is the son of former Stoke City long-throw specialist Rory Delap. . Chelsea have also been credited with a desire to sign him, which suggests a bidding war could take shape at the end of the campaign.

Ipswich look set for an immediate return to the Championship next season, with the Blues sitting nine points adrift of safety. This would seemingly increase the likelihood of Delap leaving in the summer, having already proven himself at Premier League level.

However, chief executive Mark Ashton has warned the likes of Chelsea and United that Ipswich will not make it easy for them to sign Delap, who reportedly has a price tag of around £40million.

"In January, there was interest in a number of our players from a number of Premier League clubs," he told the .

"But the ownership were great. It was: 'You don't have to sell'. So, look, we're not an easy club to buy from because we have such strong ownership.

"Obviously, there is always a natural point in time when a player has to move. That's the cycle of life, it's the cycle of football, but we are very, very well protected with all of that."

Asked if players like Delap will only depart on the club's own terms, Ashton gave a resounding response: "Hell, yes." It suggests Chelsea will need to pay over the odds to force a move, regardless of whether Ipswich drop back down to the Championship.

have also been tipped to bring Delap back to the Etihad Stadium, only a year after selling him to Ipswich. It has been speculated that a buy-back clause may have been inserted into the deal which saw him join the Tractor Boys last summer.

Quizzed on whether such a clause exists, Ashton replied: "What I would say is that what's been reported is never quite fact. It would be remiss of me to speak about any individual player, you know I'm going to say that. It would be remiss of me to do that.

"I would actually be in breach of contract for talking in any kind of detail. All I would say to the fans is that hopefully an element of trust has been built with us since we took over. We know what we're doing and we are well protected."