Pat Nevin believes Chelsea will look to sell Liam Delap this summer – and tipped one Premier League rival because the ‘right fit’ for the English striker.
Delap signed for Chelsea for £30million last summer, turning down approaches from Manchester United to maneuver to Stamford Bridge after a powerful first campaign in the highest flight with Ipswich Town.
Nevertheless, his first season with the Blues has not gone based on plan, with injuries and the shape of fellow summer signing Joao Pedro contributing to a scarcity of normal minutes.
The 23-year-old has scored only one goal in his 22 league appearances this season, with the arrival of Liam Rosenior, who he thrived under at Hull, yet to revitalise Delap’s fortunes.
Nicolas Jackson’s likely return from an unsuccessful loan spell at Bayern Munich will provide further competition for minutes next season, while the Blues have also been linked with an audacious bid for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez.
And with that in mind, former Chelsea winger Nevin believes Delap could well be heading for the exit this summer, only one 12 months after he joined the club.
‘The numbers aren’t looking great when it comes to goals scored and assists and things like that, and so they’re trying to search out different positions for him, playing him barely wider than you’ll normally when he’s brought on,’ he told talkSPORTBET Casino.
‘I actually like him as a player. I’d love him on my team. After I was a player, I’d love a player to hit balls into space for.
‘Because he runs, and he stretches teams, and makes more room for yourself should you’re a creative midfielder. And I believe the Chelsea fans have gotten quite a lot of time for him because he works hard.
‘You look back on the likes of Timo Werner, Chelsea fans were all right with him because he worked for them. He is probably not the perfect player on this planet sometimes.
‘I believe Liam is a greater all-round player than Timo Werner because there’s more technical stuff to his game. He’s also shown that he can rating at this level.
‘Chelsea and him, the flawed move? It would actually be the case now. But there are some others coming in, you’re thinking that of Nicolas Jackson coming back, so there’s a pressure.
‘Chelsea will move in that position in the summertime, they’ll do something, and so they’ll adapt, and who knows what’s going to occur with Chelsea in the summertime. But definitely that centre-forward position is something to have a look at.’
Despite flattering to deceive this season, Delap’s age and profile will certainly be a beautiful proposition to several clubs on the lookout for a number nine this summer.
And Nevin wonders whether Delap might follow the lead of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who left Chelsea last summer and has subsequently flourished under the watchful eye of David Moyes.
‘Delap jogs my memory of Conor Gallagher and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Various kinds of players, but an analogous situation,’ he added.
‘Great player, positive player, but you’re not in the appropriate place. So Kiernan goes as much as Everton, and it’s great and it is precisely what he wants and wishes.
‘Everton need a centre forward, don’t they? So, in my dream scenario, Liam strikes me as the appropriate fit for somebody like Everton.
‘Looking forward, I don’t think it might hurt Chelsea, I don’t think it might hurt Everton in any way, and I don’t think it might hurt Delap if he did move to Everton after which was allowed to flourish. I’m only saying that since it’s what I need, because I need Everton to do well.’
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