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£30m for a young striker fresh from scoring a dozen goals in the Premier League? No wonder Newcastle United made a pitch to Liam Delap. This is a future England international who could have
eased the burden on Alexander Isak after only Dan Burn and Bruno Guimaraes started more games for Newcastle this season. This is a goal scorer who Burn tipped to be a 'very, very good
player' after coming up against him at St James' Park last month. This is a 22-year-old who could have given the Magpies another tactical dimension. After all, as wedded as Eddie
Howe is to his favoured 4-3-3 formation, the Newcastle boss has occasionally fielded Isak and Callum Wilson in the same side when the pair have been fit and firing over the years. However,
strikers by their very nature want to start_ every_ week. As much as the humble Delap could have learnt from Isak, the Newcastle star is the club's undisputed main man at just 25. Even
a competitor like Wilson, who has entered the final weeks of his contract, has long recognised that. "Alex has gone to another level, which is fantastic for the team," the veteran
admitted earlier this month. "It's helped us improve so much but my role changes and you have to then put your pride to the side, put your ego to the side and put the team
first." Challenging Nicolas Jackson for a starting berth is certainly a very different proposition to going head to head with one of the world's best in Isak and Delap has
indicated that Chelsea are his preferred suitors. Jackson, for context, scored two fewer Premier League goals than Delap managed in his maiden top-flight campaign despite the Ipswich Town
striker playing for a relegated side. Then there is the financial package on offer. Chelsea have the fourth-highest wage bill in the Premier League - spending £119.1m more than Newcastle on
salaries in the clubs' most recent accounts - and Howe was the first to admit that 'financial terms are a big thing for players' "Under our PSR constraints that has been
an issue historically," the Newcastle boss said earlier this month. "So that will be the thing that we have to satisfy our players and the market will sort of dictate what that
looks like." It brings back one or two memories of Newcastle's pursuit of Tosin Adarabioyo, another English graduate from Manchester City's academy, who also plumped for a
reunion with Enzo Maresca a year ago. Newcastle are in a stronger financial position now, but the Delap race highlights just how competitive the market remains when there are so many clubs
looking at such a small pool of players. You can see why Howe has stressed the need for speed with other targets. _Here at ChronicleLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best NEWCASTLE
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