It’s not often that a player from a relegated team has all of Europe’s top clubs interested in them but that appears to be the case with Liam Delap. The Athletic reported that there are perhaps a dozen clubs that are interested in the Ipswich Town forward and there may be a bidding war for his services this summer.
The report from The Athletic lists several Premier League clubs including Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United as those interested in Delap with all of them putting in legwork to try and convince him to join. They also list clubs from Europe like AC Milan and Bayern Munich who are big fans of him and have made inquiries as well.
They list a few other clubs but instead of listing all the clubs interested they write that “perhaps it is easier to point out which clubs do not appear to have him in their thoughts”. Part of this is because Delap’s release clause of £30m is incredibly affordable in this day and age for a double-digit goal scorer in the Premier League.
Chelsea have a slight advantage over some other clubs because Liam Delap is familiar with Enzo Maresca from their days at Manchester City. Whether that is a positive is still to be determined but the decision will come down to how much a club is willing to pay Delap in wages and how badly he wants to play in the Champions League.
Being in the Champions League is what allowed Chelsea to secure the services of the likes of Eden Hazard and missing out on the competition kept them from signing Allison so that matters a great deal. So this final stretch of games, including a date with Ipswich, could decide if Delap comes to Chelsea or not.
The young Englishman has been the best player on a struggling team and we wonder what he could become if surrounded by great talent. Instead of Nathan Broadhead feeding him passes what if it was Enzo Fernandez or Cole Palmer? Even with the struggles of Ipswich, Delap has been one of the better players in the Premier League and could slot in immediately in the Chelsea lineup.
Delap can line up out wide as a winger or could push Nicolas Jackson for the starting striker role which is good news for all. Chelsea have made it known that they want him and now it is just a matter of Delap deciding if the feeling is mutual. We know he will have plenty of suitors but it’s always hard to turn down the mighty Chelsea FC.