LIAM DELAP and Chelsea could be a match made in heaven as the Blues grow increasingly confident of signing Ipswich’s £30million striker.
Delap, 22, is set to be on the move just one year after joining the Tractor Boys from Man City in a deal worth just £20m.
He has scored 12 Premier League goals this season.
And that has seen several clubs join the race for his signature this summer.
Manchester United are keen as Ruben Amorim searches for more firepower.
But SunSport can exclusively reveal that Chelsea are now leading the race for Delap.
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And a move to Stamford Bridge could be the perfect outcome for both parties.
For starters, Chelsea now resemble a mini-Man City following Todd Boehly’s £1billion rebuild.
Former academy star Cole Palmer is the club’s top player.
Romeo Lavia has also become a fan favourite – at least when he’s fit enough to play.
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Behind the scenes, recruitment chief Joe Shields knows Delap well from their time together at City’s academy.
But most importantly, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was his manager at City’s academy.
The pair enjoyed a fine working relationship together.
And Maresca hailed Delap before both of Chelsea’s fixtures against Ipswich this season, with the forward scoring in his side’s 2-0 home win in December.
However, Delap and Chelsea also match up in terms of playing style.
The hitman’s intelligence and movement off the last line creates plenty of space.
Delap could thrive off the clever passes pinged in by Palmer and Enzo Fernandez.
His athleticism and strength would also help break down teams that sit in a deeper defensive block.
In the above example, we see a clever movement from Delap where he first creates the attack before timing his arrival into space to finish comfortably.
He picks up the ball and drives forward before releasing it wide.
The forward then moves into the space to pick up the cross and finish first time.
Chelsea could definitely benefit from having a stiker with this kind of movement in his locker.
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Liam Delap would become the EIGHTH high profile name to move to Stamford Bridge from The Etihad, sometimes via a couple of other clubs in between.
- Enzo Maresca
Chelsea’s current head coach was once part of Pep Guardiola’s backroom staff at City — and is such of devotee of his former boss he’s known as Diet Pep. Maresca, 45, – who also spent a season as Leicester manager – worked as manager of City’s Under-23 team.
- Joe Shields
Chelsea’s Co-Director of Recruitment and Talent, who was poached from Southampton, where he spent just two months after leaving Man City in 2022.
- Glenn van der Kraan
Van der Kraan was at City before joining as Chelsea’s academy technical director last October. He was head of coaching at City’s academy
- Cole Palmer
The 23-year-old England star made the switch from Man City to Chelsea in 2023 for £40million, potentially rising to £42.5m. Palmer, pictured here with Lavia at Man City in 2021, has become the star man at Chelsea with 37 goals in 68 games for the club.
- Romeo Lavia
The Belgium international midfielder, 21, joined Chelsea from Southampton for £53m in 2023. Before that he spent two years at Man City, making one appearance for the first team.
- Jadon Sancho
Sancho, 25, spent two years at Man City where he was rated very highly. But they sold the young winger to Dortmund for £8m in 2017, and he then joined Man Utd for £73m in 2021. Currently on loan at Chelsea.
- Tosin Adarabioyo
The 6ft5in centre back was at Man City’s academy for four seasons, and made his debut for the first team aged 19. Now 27, he spent four years at Fulham before moving to Chelsea on a free transfer last summer.
Delap also has a sharp sense when it comes to scoring.
His ball anticipation and first-move timing is impeccable.
The centre-forward’s tendency to attack space while running across defenders means he is often arriving at the right time to meet crosses.
Despite his size, Delap also boasts plenty of pace.
His surprising speed helps stretch the game while opening up gaps in the final third.
And creative team-mates like Cole Palmer could take advantage with clever dribbles towards goal while forcing the opposition backwards.
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It now remains to be seen where Delap ends up once the season is over.
But should he accept a move to Chelsea, it is highly likely to be the right choice.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
