Liam Delap on wanting to emulate Cole Palmer and World Cup goal | OneFootball

New Chelsea signing Liam Delap has spoken about how he wants to emulate Cole Palmer’s rise to stardom since joining the Blues.

Delap joined Chelsea from Ipswich for £30 million before the Club World Cup started, and was instantly put into the squad for the tournament in America.

He had a difficult decision to make in not going to the Under-21 Euros with England, but said understandably Chelsea wanted him at the Club World Cup: “Obviously I had my sights set on the Euros all season and I was really looking forward to that. But I signed here and they wanted me to be here. I want to be here as well. I need to get to know everyone so that’s why I’m here.”

Delap already knows a few players at the west London side, having come through the Manchester City academy with them, including Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia. He also knows manager Enzo Maresca who was the manager of the City Under-23 side in the 2020/21 campaign.

The Citizens won the league title in that season and Delap finished as top scorer with 24 goals in 20 games, and he is confident that the synergy of that team can be recreated for Chelsea in the campaign ahead.

“I’ve got a good relationship with the manager. I know how he plays. I’ve played in this system before. I know a lot of the players here and the project of the club, how they see the future. That’s what excited me.”

One player who the ex-Ipswich striker knows well is Palmer, and he spoke about the connection they have on and off the pitch: “Since I was 15, playing at City with him. I’ve got a good relationship with him so it was nice to see a familiar face.”

Delap also said he is not surprised at how well Palmer has gone on to do in the last couple of years: “I think he’s always been that good and everyone at City will tell you that. I think the rate he’s done it at is incredible. But I think ultimately it was always going to happen.”

Asked if he sees the chance to emulate Palmer, Delap remarked: “Yeah, of course, that’s the goal. I think we both had similar positions and he’s gone and smashed it so hopefully I can also.”

A big draw for Delap of Chelsea was that he will be playing in the Champions League, and he spoke of his excitement to be playing in Europe’s premier club competition. “I’m really excited. It’s one of the reasons I came here and one of the reasons I started playing football was to play in the Champions League.”

Playing in Europe’s elite club competition will expose Delap to the world stage and should allow him to get noticed by England manager Thomas Tuchel. He admitted that being at Chelsea will certainly help with his ambitions of being on the plane for the World Cup next year.

“I think obviously it’s going to help being at a club like this. If I’m playing badly then obviously I know I’m not going to be in but if I’m playing well then it gives me a good chance… It’s been a goal of mine since I was six or seven years old to play for my country and all I have to do is keep working hard and doing everything I can to try and get there.”

A big topic of conversation since Delap’s move has been the competition for a starting place between himself and Nicolas Jackson, but the 22-year-old brushed that off: “With the size of the club there’s always going to be competition and I think players thrive off that competition.

“You’re going to work that little bit harder and try and compete. It’s Chelsea, it’s going to be tough and it’s going to be competitive and that’s what you relish.”

Perhaps an area of concern linking to this particular competition with Delap and Jackson is the discipline of both players. Jackson was sent off against Flamengo, and against Newcastle in the Premier League last season, whilst Delap received the joint-most yellow cards in the league, with 12.

Speaking about the high number of cards, the striker said: “It was my first season playing in the Premier League, playing with VAR. It’s something that I’m going to have to get used to and work my way around to try and get less yellow cards. But it’s not something I’m worried about. I think I can control my emotions when I need to.”

He also said he felt Jackson was unlucky to be sent off against Flamengo: “I think everyone playing football plays close to the edge a little bit. You have to be aggressive, on the front foot all the time. I was right in front of it (red-card incident) when it happened. It was so unlucky. He (Jackson) has obviously not meant to do it; these things happen in football and I am sure he will get over it.”

Delap has certainly impressed in his first couple of games for Chelsea, and with Jackson’s double suspension in the Club World Cup and Premier League, the Englishman will get the chance to continue to prove himself as the main striking option for the Blues.