Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca looks determined to sign one player from another Premier League club this summer.
Chelsea were very quiet during the January transfer window, with Mathis Amougou being their only arrival.
Amougou made his debut for the Blues in their 4-0 win against Southampton after being brought on as a second-half substitute.
While the club were not too busy in the transfer market last month, it could be a very different story in the summer.
Enzo Maresca keeps bringing up Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap in internal meetings at Chelsea
One area that Chelsea are likely to strengthen is their attack. While Christopher Nkunku got his name on the scoresheet on Tuesday, he is not a recognised centre-forward.
Nicolas Jackson is the only senior striker that Maresca has in his squad, meaning that the Blues need another player who can play in that position, and Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap is one name that they are currently considering.
In fact, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Maresca keeps bringing up Delap’s name in discussions with the club.
Speaking about Chelsea’s interest in Delap on GiveMeSport’s Market Madness, Romano said: “He’s on the list, for sure. He’s a player they appreciate. They already made some contact in January to understand the financial package needed. For Ipswich, it was obviously impossible to accept any proposal in January.
“He was untouchable, but in the summer, it will be different, so for sure he’s on the list for Chelsea. For sure he’s a player they appreciate, for sure he’s one of the names Enzo Maresca keeps mentioning in internal meetings they’re having because he obviously knows the player since they were together at Manchester City’s academy. So Delap is there.”
Chelsea recently took a look at Delap, sending scouts to watch him in Ipswich’s 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. He is clearly on their radar.
What Enzo Maresca has said about Liam Delap in the past
Maresca spoke about Delap publicly in December ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Ipswich.
The Blues lost 2-0 against Kieran McKenna’s men, with Delap winning a penalty before converting it to put his side in front on the night.
After working with him at City, Maresca only had high praise for Delap, telling reporters: “Liam is a fantastic player. Also for his age, we spent one year together. I think in that season, he scored 22 or 24 goals.
“This is a very good striker — as I’ve said many times, England are quite lucky because they have very good players, very good strikers, and it is working hard off the ball, on the ball he understands the game and he can score goals. Because of his age, I think he can be an important player for England.”
If Chelsea are to sign a striker this summer, which seems very likely, then it looks like it will be Delap. They will have to see off competition from other clubs for his signature, though.
Manchester United are targeting Delap as well as Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee continue to struggle at Old Trafford.
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