Liam Delap is making a major step in his career after signing for Chelsea this summer, but he will be familiar with what it’s like inside a big club because of his spell at Manchester City.
Chelsea confirmed earlier in June that they have completed the £30m signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich Town.
The 22-year-old striker earned his move after scoring 12 Premier League goals last season for a relegated side. Everyone at Stamford Bridge will hope he becomes an even bigger goal threat in a better team.
Alan Shearer rates the Delap signing because he expects the young English centre-forward to develop and get better at Chelsea.
He’s slowly been improving as a player after Man City loaned him out several times to the Championship. After a successful year at Ipswich, he’s now back at another top-six club with a more rounded game.
| Liam Delap’s football journey |
| Derby County (academy) |
| Manchester City (academy) |
| Manchester City |
| Stoke City (loan) |
| Preston North End (loan) |
| Hull City (loan) |
| Ipswich Town |
| Chelsea |
What Pep Guardiola said about Liam Delap in 2021 could now ring true at Chelsea
Delap’s time as a Man City player overlapped with their legendary manager Pep Guardiola, who will be taking charge of his 10th season at the Etihad Stadium next term.
The striker’s six first-team appearances for Man City came under Guardiola. However, he was unable to properly force his way into his plans.
Interestingly, back in August 2021, Guardiola made a bold claim about Delap. He said via Man City’s official website: “Liam Delap, for me, for the club, is so important for the future.”
Guardiola made the big suggestion about Delap straight after a dominant 2020/21 season in Man City’s academy, where he scored 24 goals in 20 Premier League 2 games en route to the division title. Incidentally, current Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was the coach of that successful Under-23s Man City team.
While Delap is clearly not the future of Man City, he’s now got the chance to be the future of Chelsea.
Delap has immediately taken Chelsea’s No.9 shirt despite the curse around the number in recent years. If things click at Stamford Bridge, the youngster could be the long-term answer in the centre-forward position for many years to come.
According to Cole Palmer, Delap is already one of the Premier League’s best strikers. It feels like the new signing has so much going in his favour to shine at Chelsea, and now it’s up to him to deliver on the football pitch.
What Lee Carsley has said about Liam Delap
If Delap succeeds with Chelsea, we suspect he could be in line to break into England’s senior squad eventually as well.
It’s been confirmed that the youngster won’t be with England’s Under-21s side for this summer’s Euros tournament because he will be with the Blues at the Club World Cup.
Lee Carsley, the Young Lions manager, understands why Delap is absent from the U21s Euros. He said via The Evening Standard: “I am delighted for Liam and his family. I think it is a brilliant thing for an English centre-forward to play in the Premier League at such a prestigious club like Chelsea. Hopefully he will do really well there and push for the senior team.”
Chelsea asked Delap to choose club over country, which feels like a no-brainer for us.
