Chelsea are keen on Ipswich striker Liam Delap, who has emerged as a forward target after rating exceptionally highly on their advanced transfer metrics.
Delap has made a sensational impact at the start of his first season as a Premier League starter, scoring six goals in 11 games for a team that have only won once so far this term. But that only hints at the threat he has posed for Kieran McKenna’s team, with recruitment sources noting his movement, physical threat and acceleration as part of the reason why he is attracting interest from top sides.
Delap left Manchester City in the summer – the club have inserted a buy-back clause along with a sell-on in a deal worth around £20m – but that transfer was more a case of City being unable to offer him the first team opportunities he needed rather than writing off the 21-year-old. So it will be little surprise at the Etihad that he has being performing so well and attracting interest from Premier League rivals.
i understands that Chelsea are one of those clubs as they continue to look for a No 9 after missing out on a deal for Victor Osimhen in the summer. While resurrecting a deal for Osimhen at some point in the next 12 months hasn’t been written off entirely, they are ready to look at younger alternatives who fit more readily into their wage structure and Delap is one of those.
After a turbulent 2024 in which their squad building process has been roundly criticised Chelsea feel the changes in their recruitment processes, which have tilted heavily towards data, are starting to bear fruit.
With Enzo Maresca having made a good start – and committed to developing their younger players – signing players like Delap makes sense.
One player Chelsea aren’t likely to sign is Alexander Isak, though.
In the summer the Blues were linked with the Newcastle striker but i understands there is confidence at St James’ Park that the Sweden striker is satisfied and happy at the club. And Chelsea’s interest was more opportunistic than a reflection of long-term interest in the player.
While his aspiration is to return to the Champions League, sources have indicated Isak is happy to be part of a Newcastle project which remains ambitious while targeting European competition. Contract talks have been mothballed after initial discussions in the summer but neither Newcastle nor the player’s camp see that as an issue.
The player himself spoke of his happiness on Tyneside during the most recent international break. “Throughout my career, I have never talked about or really commented on the move rumours during the season,” he told Fotbal Skanalen.
“There have been many such years where it has been talked about. It doesn’t affect me. I am commenting on my situation in Newcastle, and I have never had any problem there.
“I am fully focused on my task there and that we will have a fantastic season. There are still great opportunities for that. I have no thoughts about anything else.”