- Chelsea are set to sign England U21 striker Liam Delap from Ipswich for £30m
- The former Man City starlet scored 12 Premier League goals this past season
- Delap previously played alongside Cole Palmer during his time with Man City
Funny to think when I moved to Chelsea in 1999 for £10million, I was their record signing. Now, £30m for Liam Delap would be an absolute bargain, a total no-brainer from the Blues’ perspective.
Chelsea can hand him a hefty salary boost and even then, on a 15-year deal or whatever ludicrous length of contract is eventually signed by the 22-year-old Englishman, he’s cheaper than the other striker options they could have gotten.
I see Delap as an all-rounder; he’s shown why he can be a finisher, a link-up man and a big lump all in one package.
I like that he mixes it up, sometimes playing with his back to goal and other times sprinting in behind, and how he can unleash clean strikes with both the left and right feet as defenders never know which avenue to show him down.
But once they have him, Chelsea need to make sure they play to his strengths.
Cole Palmer was interesting after the Conference League final, essentially admitting he went rogue when he set up Enzo Fernandez to score the equaliser in that 4-1 victory over Real Betis: ‘I was sick of getting the ball and going backwards and sideways.’
Chelsea are set to sign England Under-21 international Liam Delap from Ipswich for £30m
Delap has shown he can be an all-round striker during an impressive season at Ipswich
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca must ensure the Blues play to Delap’s strengths to help him thrive
Enzo Maresca needs to make sure he does not stifle Palmer’s creativity moving forward, and that Delap is supplied with the chances from which he can score.
It helps that Ipswich tried to play a possession-based philosophy when they were in the Premier League.
Sometimes to their own downfall as they finished the season with the fewest crosses out of any club. I’m sure Delap, standing tall at 6ft 1in, would have liked the odd ball whipped into the box to attack.
Chelsea are not as allergic at crossing as Ipswich, but they should also get him running into the channels, holding up the ball like we know he can, linking up with the wingers and winding up the opposition so that no defender ever thinks he is in for an easy afternoon.
He’s no shy bairn, Delap. He will let you know he’s there, as he did when Chelsea visited Portman Road last season and he immediately barged into Tosin Adarabioyo and then Levi Colwill.
At Chelsea, Delap is set to be surrounded by elite team-mates, not least Palmer, who played with him at Manchester City’s academy. Palmer proved a £42.5m steal, and Delap has the opportunity to follow in his footsteps.
Maybe his £30m fee can help in that regard because it will alleviate the pressure on this English striker who, in my opinion, will only get better and better with time.
