Jamie Carragher has told Liam Delap that he made a mistake joining Chelsea, believing he should have signed for another Premier League club last summer.
Delap, 23, arrived at Stamford Bridge in a £30million move from Ipswich Town last summer after attracting attention from a wealth of top clubs, including both Manchester United and Manchester City.
Despite suffering relegation with the Tractor Boys, the 23-year-old forward netted 12 Premier League goals last campaign and caused defences plenty of issues with his movement and pace in behind.
His start to life at Chelsea has not gone to plan, however, with Delap chalking up just two goals and one assist from 23 appearances in all competitions.
Hampered by a few frustrating injury setbacks, the striker first struggled to break into Chelsea’s XI consistently under Enzo Maresca and has since seen little improvement with new coach Liam Rosenior at the helm.
From his 17 appearances in the Premier League, only nine have been starts and he has played 90 minutes just twice since the start of 2026.
Liam Delap has been told he made a mistake signing for Chelsea in a £30m move last summer
Jamie Carragher labelled Delap’s summer switch to Chelsea from Ipswich Town a ‘bad move’ and believes he should have joined a mid-table Premier League side such as Everton
Delap’s opportunities have been few and far between at Chelsea, who sit fifth in the table
Delivering his verdict on the transfer, Carragher told the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by ARNE: ‘It was a bad move. Honestly, it was a bad move going to Chelsea.
‘I just think young players, when they’re on a journey and getting better, the jump from Ipswich and Chelsea was too big, he needed somewhere in the middle.
‘Somewhere like Everton. If you play centre forward for Everton and play every game and know even if you have a few bad games you’re still going to play.’
Delap has fallen well behind fellow summer signing Joao Pedro in the Chelsea pecking order, with the Brazilian international currently enjoying a rich vein of form.
Pedro, 24, has registered an impressive eight goal contributions in his last five Premier League matches, scoring four times and quickly becoming a favourite of Rosenior.
Chelsea sit fifth in the Premier League table after throwing away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 against Leeds at Stamford Bridge in midweek, a point behind Manchester United in fourth.
Delap may be given a rare opportunity in the FA Cup on Friday when Chelsea travel to the MKM Stadium to face in-form Championship side Hull City, whom Rosenior used to manage before moving to Strasbourg.
Chelsea’s next Premier League test comes at Stamford Bridge against Burnley on February 21 before a huge test against leaders Arsenal at the Emirates in early March.
