‘Chelsea project excited me’ – Delap on why he joined Blues

One of the most sought-after strikers for this summer was Liam Delap.

Ipswich’s 22-year-old scored 12 goals in 37 Premier League games, and his enticing £30m release clause attracted numerous suitors after their relegation to the Championship.

In May, he was given permission to speak with clubs, with Everton, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester United all showing signs of interest, and City also offered to buy back their ex-player.

Chelsea, however, won the search for his signature, and Delap has explained why, including the pull of Europe and joining some well-known faces, in a statement released before the Blues’ final Club World Cup group game against ES Tunis on Wednesday.

You can never tell whether a decision will be the right choice, he said, but you can always trust your gut and hope it turns out. You must take your time, I tell you. I had a few days to plan my future and speak with people.

Cole Palmer, a star attacker for Chelsea who he first played for at Manchester City at the age of 15, was one of those players that he consulted.

Delap continued, “I told him what I needed to know, and he told me what I needed to know.” However, I dislike consuming a lot of information. I kind of want my head to be crystal clear in the end because that’s ultimately my choice.

After two phenomenal seasons, Palmer has become the club’s poster boy, and Delap was asked if he hopes to emulate his former academy team-mate.

He responded, “Yes, of course, that’s the goal.” He has since broken his arm, so I hope I can at least see what we both had in common, and we both had similar positions.

Delap’s choice was reportedly based on reports from May that Manchester United would be the front-runners to sign him, but their Europa League final defeat at Tottenham and a subpar season prevented them from playing European football next season, with Chelsea’s Champions League qualification factoring in Delap’s decision.

He said, “I was also anticipating upcoming seasons, so it wasn’t the end all.”

Rory Delap, the son of the late Stoke City and Derby County midfielders, started his career with Chelsea under current Chelsea manager Maresca. As he led the Italian under-21s squad to the title in 2020-21, he scored 20 goals and won the PL2 player of the year award.

He described Maresca as having a good relationship with the manager. I am aware of his style. This system has previously been used by me. It’s very similar, but it’s still a lot of work. I am aware of the club’s goals and the players’ vision for the future with many of them. That was what piqued my interest.

Maresca has previously claimed that Delap chose to wear the team’s infamous “cursed” number nine shirt.

When asked if he believed in the curse, which names Radamel Falcao, Romelu Lukaku, Gonzalo Higuain, Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku, Gonzalo Higuain, and Fernando Torres as its purported victims, Delap replied, “No, I’m not that kind of person.

Delap’s move, however, caused him to choose between competing for clubs in the Under-21s European Championship with England or the Club World Cup with Chelsea.

He said, “I had my sights on the Euros all season, and I was really looking forward to that.” However, I agreed to be there because they wanted me. I’d like to attend as well.

I need to know everyone, so I’m here.

I can get settled in really quickly with the boys, and we can work on things we want to use in the coming season.

Harry Kane has already been to Bayern Munich, and England manager Thomas Tuchel may see Delap line up against ES Tunis or, potentially, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain in the knockout stages.

Nicolas Jackson, who was sent off in the 3-1 defeat by Flamengo, is now suspended, but Delap remarked, “I was right in front of it when it happened. It was so difficult. I’m confident that he will move past these things that happen in football, which he obviously did not mean to do.

Former Chelsea midfielder-turned-pundit John Obi Mikel, who serves as an illustration of the pressure cooker Delap himself is entering, harshly criticized Jackson, but he insisted: “I don’t really like to look at everything from the outside.