Levi Colwill ‘excited’ by Delap arrival after positive Chelsea debut | OneFootball

Levi Colwill says he knew Liam Delap would make it as a professional footballer after he grabbed an assist on his Chelsea debut in their 2-0 win over LAFC.

Delap signed for Chelsea at the start of June from Ipswich Town in a £30 million deal after an impressive first season in the Premier League, scoring 12 times.

The 22-year-old was brought on for his Blues debut in the second half of the west Londoners first Club World Cup match against the MLS side and made an instant impact, crossing for Enzo Fernandez in the 79th minute to secure a winning start to Group D for Enzo Maresca’s side.

Speaking after the match, Colwill applauded the impact made by his new teammate, and admitted he was always confident the forward would become a success.

“I’ve known Liam for a long time now, played against him a load of times,” Delap said. “Growing up you sort of know the players that are going to make it, and he was one of those players.

“To have him for our team, to train against him, to see him score goals which I know he will, I’m very excited.

“He’s a confident player, he’s an amazing player, we know he’s going to score goals for Chelsea in that no.9 shirt.

“That’s the mentality when you’re a Chelsea player. He came on and did half his job and got an assist but we need him to score goals and he knows he’s got to score goals if he wats to play in our team. That’s the mentality we need from every player.”

Colwill also acknowledged the quality of goalscorer Fernandez, with the Argentine having come under constant scrutiny since his £105 million move from Benfica in January 2023.

“We all know Enzo is fantastic player. He’s a player you can rely on in the big games to find the goal and to make things happen. He’s done it today and in the Conference League final. As a team we believe in him, we all know how good he is and he’s definitely under appreciated.”