Nottingham Forest reunite Liam Delap with perfect ex-partner as deal struck
Nottingham Forest have agreed a £45million deal to sign Liam Delap from Chelsea this summer.
The 23-year-old will be reunited with former teammate James McAtee at the City Ground, and will replace Taiwo Awoniyi in the squad after he joined Coventry City.
Football Insider revealed that Delap will undergo a Forest medical on Wednesday after agreeing the terms of a £45m deal.
The England youth international joined Chelsea just last summer for £30m after a strong season with Ipswich Town, but scored just three goals in 49 appearances across all competitions.
Delap had hoped to stay at Chelsea this summer, but Xabi Alonso appears to have made it clear that the striker is not in his plans for the future.
The young forward will now hope to revitalise his career with Nottingham Forest and will sign a long-term contract in the coming hours.
It has been a difficult start to Oliver Glasner's reign at the City Ground, where his side have lost back-to-back games to Leeds United in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup without scoring a goal.
Liam Delap and James McAtee have thrived together
Delap joined Manchester City in 2019 from Derby County, and would go on to thrive for the youth teams before a successful loan to Hull City saw him join Ipswich Town in 2024.
McAtee also left Man City in 2024 after spending his youth career in the academy, with the duo having featured in the same team regularly.
For what is on record, the pair have appeared on the pitch together 60 times for the Citizens' Under-18s and U21s, as well as England's U21s.
Those games have seen a productive return, with a points per game tally of 2.23 and 11 goals that both players directly contributed to.
10 of those were scored by Delap and assisted by McAtee, with the pair clearly enjoying a great connection on the pitch that Glasner will hope to utilise.
What McAtee said about Delap
McAtee is yet to hit his stride at Nottingham Forest following his £30m move from Man City in 2024, but Delap's arrival could be a huge boost for him.
The midfielder was among the home side's better players in last week's opening-weekend defeat to Leeds, and he could well be a big weapon for Glasner if he can take a step up.
"I speak to Liam every day and he’s happy for us. We’re all happy for him, he’s doing well," McAtee said when asked about Delap during the U21 Euros in 2025. The striker had missed the tournament to participate in the Club World Cup with Chelsea.
"I’ve had a couple of messages from Taylor [Harwood-Bellis] so the lads back home are rooting for us and happy for us that we got here.”