£20m striker could be perfect solution to Chelsea’s big Jackson puzzle | OneFootball

Nobody paid that much attention when Ipswich signed Man City youth striker Liam Delap this summer for £20m.

Just a few short months later, the landscape has changed. After an impressive introduction to Premier League football, the whole world is talking about Delap, and many top teams are being linked.

TeamTalk today have a piece which claims that Chelsea are on that list, although Ipswich are reluctant to sell and in a strong position to hold on to him for a while longer given he just arrived there.

The piece says Chelsea have “scouted him on multiple occasions” and put them with Manchester United at the top of the list of teams interested in buying him.

Liam Delap takes on a defender in the box. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Delap could solve Chelsea’s Jackson question mark

Chelsea are at a major fork in the road with their striker situation. Until now, the plan has always seemed to be to try and get an elite, proven number 9 to spearhead the team. But Nicolas Jackson’s development over the last year has suddenly hung a question mark over that.

From the evidence we’ve seen in the last few months, Jackson is already good enough to be our main striker, and what we’re looking for is really a player who can complement him and back him up. Delap offers something slightly different, but could be a perfect option in that role given he’s just 21.

We can’t say for sure what his ambitions are, but he might be happy as a backup to Jackson next season, playing in the cups and in Europe and waiting for his chance while he develops his skills.

It will all depend on the price – at a a reasonable cost it’s a no brainer, but we’re unlikely to pay £80m or more for a player to sit on the bench for most of the season.