Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton has sent a stern message to Premier League giants, including Chelsea, warning them that his side will not be “an easy club to deal with” this summer.

The Tractor Boys have seen their 22-year-old striker, Delap, attract significant attention from top-flight clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City, following an impressive spell with Ipswich.

Man City reportedly hold a £40 million buy-back clause for the former player, who left the club last summer, but Ashton has played down the possibility of Delap leaving, suggesting that reports regarding the clause might not be entirely accurate.

“What I would say is that what’s been reported is never quite fact,” Ashton told the East Anglian Daily Times.

“It would be remiss of me to speak about any individual player, you know I’m going to say that.”

He further added, “What I can say is that in January there was interest in a number of our players from a number of Premier League clubs. But ownership were great. It was, ‘You don’t have to sell.'”

Ipswich’s chairman emphasised the club’s resilience and strong ownership in dealing with transfer speculation. “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, very well protected with all of that.”

When asked about the buy-back clause linked to Delap, Ashton stood firm.

“No,” he said. “Look, it would be remiss of me to do that. I would actually be in breach of contract for talking in any kind of detail.”

Ashton finished with a message for the Ipswich fans, reinforcing the club’s position in the transfer market. “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’re well, well protected.”