Chelsea are expected to sign a new striker this summer, and it looks like Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap could be their man.
Before the Blues head to the Club World Cup, a deal for Delap could be wrapped up. Enzo Maresca, though, will wish he had his former player right now.
The Chelsea manager is currently without a recognised centre-forward following injuries to Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu.
Chelsea reportedly scouted Delap over the weekend, and the 22-year-old would have convinced them with his performance.
Chelsea sent scouts to Ipswich Town’s 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea scouts were seemingly busy during the previous round of Premier League fixtures.
According to TBR Football, the club sent scouts to Ipswich Town’s 4-1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur to watch Delap.
The same outlet claims that a few German outfits also had their people at the game, so Chelsea are likely to face competition for Delap’s signature in the summer.
The Blues will probably have to go head-to-head with some English clubs as well if their plan is to sign the Englishman when the transfer window reopens.
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Rivals Manchester United are keen on Delap, too, with Ruben Amorim’s squad needing a bit of a revamp.
Things are not going to plan in the Premier League for the Portuguese, who finds his side 15th in the table. They are 13 points behind Chelsea despite Maresca’s men not being in great form lately.
Liam Delap was a real handful in Tottenham defeat
While Ipswich went on to lose against Chelsea’s fierce London rivals and Delap failed to score against them, the England U21 international still played quite well.
He had five shots in total and even hit the woodwork. Delap finished the game with an xG of 0.33, so he was not exactly getting a plethora of really good goalscoring opportunities. The former Manchester City player did well, then, to come close to scoring.
Delap also won two out of the three aerial duels he competed in, continuing to use that big and strong body of his.