Arsenal should consider bringing in Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap as one of two possible centre-forward options in the summer transfer window, Gunners legend Ray Parlour believes.
Delap was on target for the 11th time in the 2024-25 Premier League season on Saturday, but his opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers was inconsequential as Kieran McKenna's side fell to an agonising 2-1 defeat.
Ipswich's latest loss has pushed them to the brink of demotion back down to the Championship, as the 18th-placed Tractor Boys now sit 12 points adrift of safety with just seven games left to play.
The East Anglian outfit's likely demotion will make it extremely difficult for the club to keep hold of the in-demand Delap, who is thought to have attracted glances from the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea ahead of a potential bidding war.
However, speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, Parlour name-dropped the former Manchester City starlet as an ideal fit for Arsenal, saying: "Who do you get? That's the problem they're going to have.
"They've got to scout the network and see what they can bring in. I'm sure there will be movement, the board know that they need a forward. [Ollie] Watkins was mentioned, he could be a good fit. I don't know what sort of money they would want for him.
Parlour implores Arsenal to sign "quick fix" and Delap
"It's a quick fix they need. They've got good players and you just need someone to put the ball in the back of the net. You're crying out for Thierry Henry when I play. But they're really hard to find, strikers. That's why they demand lots of money. That's why they get big wages.
"This scouting network, they've got to really work hard. Delap might be a player that you could get and develop. I don't think you could rely on him winning your league. But I do like the way he plays. He's got the energy. If you can coach him, get the best out of him and improve him, he could be a good player going forward. But they need a quick fix now."
It is no secret that the Gunners will finally pay the big bucks for a new striker in the summer transfer window, having lost Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz to season-ending knee and hamstring injuries over the winter, where they kept their chequebook closed.
Arsenal's risky January approach has backfired horribly, as Saturday's 1-1 draw with Everton means that Premier League champions-elect Liverpool can move 14 points clear at the top of the table by beating Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
Both Mikel Arteta and Arne Slot's side have been tipped to battle for Newcastle United hitman Alexander Isak, who would be "perfect" in Parlour's eyes, but the Arsenal icon does not anticipate the Magpies allowing him to depart.
As a result, the three-time Premier League winner has implored the Gunners to go out and sign a ready-made option and a developing player like Delap, whom Arteta could "get the best" out of as he has done with teenage talents Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.
Parlour backs Delap to follow Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly path
© Imago
"Isak would be perfect, but Newcastle are probably not going to let him go," Parlour added. "He's going to be too much money. You could bring two strikers in and he's [Delap] the one who's going to be making impacts off the bench.
"If he improves like Myles and Nwaneri, he would start playing on a regular basis. They're the sort of players you'd be looking at to try and develop. Mikel does get the best out of young players. I don't want to see Ipswich go down, but if they did, they could be looking at trying to sell someone like Delap."
Arsenal appear to have already cooled their interest in the £150m-rated Isak and are instead exploring a swoop for Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres, who is believed to be a standout target for new sporting director Andrea Berta.
For the time being, either Leandro Trossard or Mikel Merino is expected to act as the emergency centre-forward when the Gunners host Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday evening.
Ray Parlour was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of NetBet Sports Betting
Ben Knapton
