Joe Cole claims one Liam Delap development would leave him "stunned" as Chelsea eye £30m deal | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca is getting closer to having one of England's hottest prospects in his squad next season.

Seeing Liam Delap in anything other than a Chelsea shirt next season would be unbelievable, according to Joe Cole.

It's a foregone conclusion that the young centre-forward will leave Portman Road after just one season with the club, and what a season it was. In the prior term, he was a solid enough striker for Hull City, who just missed out on the play-offs. A dozen Premier League goals later and he has been chased by a number of the country's biggest clubs.

Everton, Manchester United and Newcastle United all submitted proposals to Ipswich and Delap, but it was reported last night by Alex Crook and Ben Jacobs, while Enzo Maresca's side played their Europa Conference League final against Real Betis, which they won 4-1, that the 22-year-old was closing in on a move to Stamford Bridge.

Joe Cole makes Liam Delap, Chelsea prediction

The Tractor Boys stand to earn £30 million from the deal as a result of his relegation release clause being inevitably activated - a nice increase on the £20 million package that they agreed with Manchester City for their academy product last summer.

It was always a question of who and when rather than if. Now that the who is becoming clearer, it's only a matter of time before he departs East Anglia.

Cole, a legend of the London club, said that he would be surprised to see the number nine playing for any club other than his former one next season. "I'll actually be stunned if he isn't at Chelsea," he told TNT Sports.

Delap received rave reviews from another ex-Blue, Steve Sidwell, and his West Ham United counterpart, Michail Antonio. The former said: "He's young, he's hungry, he's someone that the coach can develop.

"He kind of reminds me of a young Alan Shearer that was at Southampton and then went to Blackburn. Just robust, an out-and-out number nine, knows where the goal is, can score a goal."

"He is an old-school number nine," added the Hammers' frontman. "With the amount of goals he got for Ipswich, if he was at a bigger club he would probably get double."

Ipswich need to be smart with their Liam Delap replacement process

The good thing for Ipswich is that they've had plenty of time to come up with options to bring in once the 22-year-old leaves. Their relegation back to the Championship was confirmed thanks to a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United with four games left to go in the 2024/25 campaign.

Town have been linked with Sheffield United youngster Ryan One by Fabrizio Romano, but he has very limited experience in men's football.