‘Liam Delap to use West Ham as a stepping stone to Chelsea transfer’
Liam Delap has been tipped to use West Ham to better his development before Chelsea can get their hands on the Ipswich Town star.
Mick Brown has told Football Insider that Man United lead Chelsea in the race for Delap’s signature, though that will not stop Enzo Maresca’s side from targeting the 12-goal forward.
The 22-year-old’s Premier League campaign, despite the Tractor Boys being relegated to the Championship, has been excellent, raising eyebrows all across Europe.
Delap was never able to break into Pep Guardiola‘s team with any regularity during his time in the Man City academy, and that might be exactly why some supporters might have concerns over a major move this summer.
Despite scoring against both Chelsea and Tottenham, and also bagging a brace against Aston Villa, former Tottenham and Sunderland striker Darren Bent feels a mid-table club would be the safe signing before making his way to somewhere like Stamford Bridge.
Graham Potter to develop Liam Delap before big-money move
Speaking on talkSPORT (29 April), Bent said: “When you’re looking at Liam Delap, who’s been brilliant for Ipswich this year, you’re still buying potential. I feel like there should be a middle ground somewhere.
“Going from Ipswich all the way to Chelsea, and competing for their No.9…” before host Andy Goldstein interrupted with a question: “Like a West Ham?”
Bent agreed: “Yeah, maybe. In the middle, establish yourself, and then go again.”
West Ham to welcome superstar striker as squad rebuild looms
Football Insider verdict
Potter is already feeling the pressure of the challenge undertaken at West Ham, having won just three of his 15 matches in charge since replacing Julen Lopetegui at the London Stadium.
Some supporters have chosen to cut the former Brighton and Chelsea figure some slack, given that there was very little to fight for once David Sullivan and Karren Brady brought him in.
| West Ham’s top scorers in 2024/25 | No. of goals |
| 1. Jarrod Bowen | 10 |
| 2. Tomas Soucek | 8 |
| 3. Lucas Paqueta | 5 |
| 4. Mohammed Kudus | 4 |
| 5. Niclas Fullkrug | 3 |
If the Hammers are to succeed under Potter’s leadership, the new manager will need the full support of the owners during the summer transfer window, even if that means a multitude of changes.
Tomas Soucek’s future at West Ham has been thrown into uncertainty, as has Guido Rodriguez’s, Edson Alvarez’s, Konstantinos Mavropanos’, and even Mohammed Kudus‘.
The manager’s style of developing youngsters has already taken shape, with Ollie Scarles being given a chance to shine, but it could take multiple new additions to fix the current problems in East London.