Chelsea Should Sign Liam Delap based on Today, not Tomorrow
Liam Delap might not be the superstar name many crave, however the output from him is hard to deny
When Liam Delap arrives in West London to face Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, he may indeed be visiting his new permanent home from June.
The competition for his signature appears stiff, with The Athletic reporting interest from Manchester United, several more Premier League clubs, and even from the likes of Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
It is absolutely no secret of Chelsea’s long-standing interest in the ex-Manchester City Academy talent. And that trait is probably the key one to signing someone under WinStewart Inc.
Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, Tosin Adarabioyo and even Enzo Maresca all come from the same think-tank. Palmer is one of the best pieces of business Chelsea have done in the market for a very long time. How much of that success was by design, or simply by opportunity is hard to gauge.
Delap could end being the same story, if you are swayed by the performances of a young forward in a team that are awaiting their return to The Championship, it could prove a low-risk with high reward.
The plain numbers are praiseworthy. 12 goals from 30 league appearances, a total of 2,345 minutes played. The goals have been spread out consistently too, with March being the only month without one. He’s outperformed his xG of 8.95, also sitting in the 95 percentile for successful dribbles.
In holding up the ball, he’s won 46 fouls for his team, winning 52 aerial duels, recovering the ball 55 times and winning possession in the final third 14 times.
This is all in the context of a first foray into the Premier League after loans to Stoke, Preston and Hull before permanently joining Ipswich for £20m after their promotion.
Chelsea fans were given a front row seat as he dominated Maresca’s rotated backline in the shock 2-0 win at Portman Road in December.
Controversially winning a penalty after falling over despite little contact from Filip Jorgensen and then converting the penalty.
Also unsettling Levi Colwill with some physicality before rifling an effort that required a firm palm by Jorgensen to prevent another.
In the second he would intercept a sloppy back pass by Axel Disasi. Taking the ball as both Tosin and Disasi watched on, cutting back before laying the ball off to Omari Hutchinson to delicately place a shot into the bottom corner.
The game was arguably Chelsea’s lowest moment of the campaign given the abysmal form of the hosts. However, the individual performance of Delap was noteworthy in offering attributes many have decried Chelsea lack.
Too often in recent years Chelsea have felt like a group that are easy to bully out of a game or overwhelm with physicality. These are attributes that were never associated with the best Chelsea teams, who could scrap with anyone should the situaiton require it.
Since the international break, Delap has only garnered more praise. Away at Bournemouth, the 22-year-old spearheaded a shock away win.
Again another solo run down the left-channel, laying the ball off to a teammate but this time instantly spotting the gap inside the box to receive the ball back from Conor Townsend. No messing about, rifling beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Fire, smash, smack all applicable here. The net shuddered in fear due to the power behind Delap’s right boot.
A couple of days later and another goal at home to Wolves. This time demonstrating good movement and positioning inside the box to capitalize on a knockdown and keep himself onside. The variety of his goals throughout the season are also an eye-catching trait of a talented forward.
All-round there is a lot to like about to Delap. He appears to be a consistent nuisance to opposing defences. He has a knack for causing chaos and uncertainty which is a trait many enjoy in Chelsea strikers.
A recent report by The Guardian has revealed that Delap’s release clause is as low as £30m should The Tractor Boys get relegated. They are currently 12 points off safety with 7 games to go, having only won 4 all season. Their fate was clear a while back.
In the current market to buy a player that has produced 10+ goals in a Premier League season for under £50m feels abnormal.
For some comparison, Kai Havertz only hit nine in his last with Chelsea before joining Arsenal for £65m. It cost Spurs the same fee to sign Cobham alumni Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth after a stellar season on the South Coast.
Manchester United had to splash £64m to sign Rasmus Højlund from Atalanta. A player who only hit 10 in his first season at Old Trafford and currently sits on three in his second.
And the real kicker, for the crowd that were totally okay with Chelsea deciding to buy Joao Felix for £45m from Atletico Madrid last August, I don’t know what the retort is.
There are the well-known European names that bring some allure. Viktor Gyökeres at the age of 27 smells like the sort of ready-made finisher Chelsea are lacking from Sporting Lisbon. Benjamin Sesko has been talked about as a Premier League player in waiting for several years now. Victor Osimhen remains a target, however you always doubt the Sporting Directors credibility when negotiations get serious and players start asking for competitive wages. The fumbling of the Michael Olise deal comes to mind.
Chelsea fans should know that the sweet spot for many deals sit in that £30-40m range.
Diego Costa was bought from Atletico Madrid for £35m in July of 2014. N’Golo Kante had his release triggered by the Blues in the summer of 2016 for £30m. And more recently, Palmer was acquired from Manchester City for £42m.
A more apt comparison is Nicolas Jackson. Bought from Villarreal without much hype in June of 2023 for around £35m. Compared to Højlund, the “higher ceiling” gurus would have never believed Jackson looks far closer to a £64m valuation.
Delap might not be the finished product many crave. Delap in age, profile, fee, marketing is not exactly breaking the mould for Chelsea’s transfer strategy. Delap is still raw, young, likely erratic and prone to naive errors.
You would be committing to two young forwards in Jackson and Delap who would likely battle for top spot. Though competition is good and at the very least, hopefully ensure the club avoids a repeat of Maresca avoiding his subs bench over the festive period again.
The squad needs experience and wisdom. They need players who are going to tangibly impact today. Not feasibly–maybe–possibly–hopefully–some undisclosed time in the future. But we cannot ignore for convenience our pretty terrible record in signing the “big” striker.
Like many, I championed the record-breaking return of Romelu Lukaku in 2021. Many thought the experience of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang could have helped a season later. I do not need to mention the rest of our striker graveyard, they roll off the tongue.
The reason for championing Delap’s signature is actually because of the evidence of today, not tomorrow. What we are looking at is proof he can impact Premier League games and score regularly despite playing in a side that have lost 19 games out of 31.
You cannot simply brush it off with “he plays for Ipswich” as some smear, when the very reason he plays for such a poor side and is producing these numbers should make you take note.
Casual fan here, but what are his stats against low-blocks?