Chelsea are close to signing Liam Delap from Ipswich Town after triggering the striker’s release clause.
Manchester United were also interested in doing a deal with Ipswich, but Chelsea were confident they would land Delap after qualifying for the Champions League.
It is good news for Enzo Maresca, who needs a new centre-forward in his squad to provide Nicolas Jackson with more competition.
However, former Blues manager Thomas Tuchel is unlikely to be ecstatic about the timing of the 22-year-old’s proposed move to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea ask Liam Delap to snub England U21s for Club World Cup
While Chelsea’s Conference League and Premier League campaigns have now concluded, their season is not actually over yet.
Chelsea still have the Club World Cup to play in the US next month, and it looks like they want Delap to be part of their squad.
According to The Telegraph, the Conference League winners have asked Delap to snub this summer’s European Under-21 Championship for the Club World Cup.
The European Under-21 Championship also kicks off in June, with Lee Carsley naming him in his England squad.
Carsley wanting the former Manchester City player in Slovakia comes as no surprise. He has had a bright Premier League campaign, scoring 12 goals in 37 appearances, but it now appears that the England U21s manager could be without him at the tournament.
With a deal for Delap practically wrapped up, it is thought that Chelsea are now focusing on signing Jorrel Hato from Ajax.
Thomas Tuchel wants Liam Delap at European Under-21 Championship
Like Carsley, Tuchel is also keen for Delap to play at the European Under-21 Championship. For the German, it gives Delap and others the chance to be leaders among a group of players.
Speaking about the likes of Delap, Tino Livramento and Jarell Quansah earlier this month, Tuchel told BBC Sport and the rest of the English media: “I like it a lot that they have chances to be leaders in this group, to be players we hopefully will rely on.
“We will monitor them closely but we decided that with these players they take the responsibility for the Under-21s.”
With Delap, though, Chelsea could ruin Tuchel’s plans and perhaps risk getting on the bad side of their former manager.
After everything that Tuchel has done for the club, leading the Blues to their second Champions League in 2021, it is not something that they will want to do. But unsurprisingly, Chelsea will obviously put themselves first as they chase the Club World Cup trophy and the prize money that comes with winning it.
