“Player of major interest” now on radar of Chelsea’s rivals – Blues face a serious battle | OneFootball

We all know Chelsea are determined to sign a striker this summer.

After holding fire a year ago they’ve seen their season scuppered by a loss of form and an injury to Nicolas Jackson. To not strengthen up top for a second summer in a row would be a true dereliction of duty by the sporting directors, and every source we have is saying they’re not going to make the same mistake twice.

The only question is who they bring in – the same names have been circling for a while now, with the likes of Benjamin Sesko and Hugo Ekitike now seemingly at the top of our list.

But one name has been coming up even more than those two of late – Liam Delap. The fact that Ipswich are certain to be relegated means that his £30m release clause will be active this summer, and there are a lot of clubs now keen to make him a pitch and see if they can interest him.

Chelsea are certain to be among them – he’s the right age, the right profile and the right price for us. But there’s no chance we’ll be the only ones. And given we may miss out on the Champions League, and given we don’t necessarily offer bigger wages than our rivals these days, landing him may prove tricky.

Chelsea face serious competition for 22 year old’s signing

Chelsea are favourites to sign Liam Delap. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

A major competitor emerging in this race is Newcastle, according to an exclusive in the Daily Telegraph today.

Luke Edwards writes that the Magpies are “keen” on Delap and have been tracking him since he was in the Man City academy. He’s “a player of major interest to them” as they plan for an “ambitious summer recruitment drive.”

Their idea would be to play Delap alongside Alexander Isak, as well as having him on deck ready to replace the Swedish star is someone makes an offer they can’t refuse in the future.