Clubs who were pursuing the signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich Town are being informed that he is not moving to them, amid the England youth striker’s preference to join Chelsea.
Sources at teams including Manchester United, Newcastle United, Everton, Nottingham Forest, AC Milan and Juventus speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships say they are now aware he is heading elsewhere.
Subject to agreement on personal terms and the requirements of Delap’s £30million ($40m) release clause being met, the 22-year-old will move to Chelsea.
Ipswich signed Delap from Manchester City, where he made just six first-team appearances, in July 2024 in a deal worth an initial £15million ($19.2m) plus an additional £5m following their promotion to the English top-flight.
Despite Ipswich’s struggles at the wrong end of the table and subsequent relegation, Delap enjoyed a breakthrough campaign, scoring 12 goals in the Premier League.
He spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons across Championship loan spells at Stoke City, Preston North End and Hull City respectively, where he scored 12 times across 70 matches.
Delap, whose father Rory played 11 times for the Republic of Ireland, has been capped up to under-21 level for England.
Having scored 12 of Ipswich’s 36 league goals, Delap has often been tasked with generating his own chances with limited service from his team-mates.
In a counter-attacking Ipswich side, Delap’s powerful, driving runs forward were a theme of his season as he has shouldered much of the attacking responsibility with a return of 10 non-penalty goals at a rate of one in three for his efforts.
Whether it is thumping finishes from range or delicate flicks at the near post, Delap is in a rush to get on the scoresheet.
A desire to get forward is the bare minimum for a striker, but Delap is something of a throwback — an out-and-out striker who is desperate to stretch the opposition back line.
