Latest news with #ChelseaFC
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Chelsea 'agree personal terms with Ipswich striker Liam Delap' as they close in on £30m deal - with medical 'already booked' after rivals were snubbed
Chelsea have agreed personal terms with Ipswich striker Liam Delap as they close in on sealing a bargain £30million deal, according to reports. As reported by Mail Sport, the Blues won the race to secure Delap's signature and he is set to put pen to paper on a long-term contract after undergoing a medical. Those checks are said to have been pencilled in on Monday, with the club moving quickly to officially wrap up the transfer ahead of the Club World Cup. Delap, 22, picked Stamford Bridge as his next destination and snubbed big-name interest from the likes of Manchester United and Newcastle in the process. After the frontman scored 12 Premier League goals in his 37 appearances for the relegated Tractor Boys, the Blues wasted no time in registering their interest. A deal was then struck that will see them activate his £30million release clause. His cut-price valuation came into effect after Ipswich's drop into the Championship. Delap will shortly undergo his medical before penning a long-term contract at Stamford Bridge Enzo Maresca is believed to have spoken to Delap as Chelsea pitched their project - with the ace having been given permission to speak to potential suitors. The Athletic have reported that Delap has also now agreed his personal terms. Ipswich paid £20m when they signed Delap from Manchester City last summer, and City will bank 30 per cent of the overall fee as per their sell-on clause. Talks are ongoing over the possibility of Chelsea forward Marc Guiu, who has made 14 appearances for the Blues, moving to Portman Road on loan in a separate deal. Chelsea will have to make a decision over whether Delap travels to the Club World Cup or competes with England at the Under-21 European Championship in Slovakia. The club will have the final say once he signs. Delap spent much of his youth career at Derby before joining City's academy in 2019. However, he made just six appearances for the Premier League heavyweights' first-team and was sent out on loan to Stoke, Preston and Hull.
New York Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Chelsea reach agreement with Liam Delap on personal terms, set to sign six-year deal
Chelsea have reached an agreement with Liam Delap over personal terms and the striker will join from Ipswich Town on a contract that runs until 2031, subject to completing his medical checks. A deal was already in place between the clubs for Chelsea to activate a £30m release clause — after the 22-year-old picked Stamford Bridge as his next destination from a host of big-name options. Chelsea are planning for the striker to undergo his medical on Monday before completing the transfer, as reported by The Athletic. The Athletic reported on May 29 that the two clubs had reached an agreement for the transfer of the 22-year-old. Chelsea met the release clause in Delap's contract, which became active upon Ipswich's relegation from the Premier League. After spending much of his youth career with Derby County, Delap joined Manchester City's academy in 2019. He only made six appearances for the first team and had loan spells at Championship sides Stoke City, Preston North End and Hull City before joining Ipswich in July 2024 for an initial £15m ($19.2m). Delap has been capped 12 times by England's under-21 side. His father, former Stoke and Southampton midfielder Rory Delap, was capped 11 times by the Republic of Ireland.
New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
Chelsea review of 2024-25: Mission accomplished for Enzo Maresca – but can he build on it?
There was no grand unveiling at Stamford Bridge to mark the start of Enzo Maresca's tenure as Chelsea head coach, but his debut season ended with the club shining once more on the European stage. Maresca's first press conference was scheduled to take place in a room packed full of reporters the week before the squad left for their pre-season tour of the USA. It was postponed due to a racism furore surrounding Enzo Fernandez, and so Maresca's media debut came not in west London, but instead with much less fanfare and far fewer journalists on the west coast of America. Advertisement Just one sign of the many twists and turns Chelsea have been through is that Fernandez was one of the heroes in Chelsea's last fixture, scoring a crucial equaliser in the 4-1 victory over Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League Final. As always there is a lot to reflect on as The Athletic looks back on Chelsea's 2024-25… Third time lucky. Three years after taking over, the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium have got something truly tangible to show for their efforts. Chelsea have qualified for the Champions League for the first time under their ownership and also claimed a first trophy by winning the UEFA Conference League. This should give Chelsea the confidence to kick on from here. To be fair, Tottenham away is usually regarded by Chelsea fans as their game of the season anyway, simply because they love nothing more than beating their fierce rivals on an annual basis. December's 4-3 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was extra special, though, because Maresca's side showed some fight in adversity, recovering from 2-0 down to claim all three points. Palmer scoring a Panenka penalty was the epitome of cool and helped Chelsea's following rub more salt in their counterparts' wounds. Palmer started the season looking like he would dominate the nominations. He provided some worthy contenders, but I have gone for Pedro Neto's late winner versus Fulham. First, because it was a beautiful goal; a lovely team move to begin with, involving Moises Caicedo, Fernandez and Palmer before Neto produced a finish of great power and technique. Spinning on to Fernandez's pass with his back to goal, the Portugal international fired a tremendous shot past Bernd Leno. Another factor elevating it above others was its importance. It ended Chelsea's four-month run without an away league win and injected some much-needed belief back into the dressing room for the run-in. Palmer's four goals in 20 minutes against Brighton in September. It was the first time in Premier League history a player had scored four times in the first half of a match, although the England international was 'angry' afterwards because he felt he should have had 'five or six'. Standards eh? Maresca saying that Chelsea being beaten by Brighton in the FA Cup Fourth Round may be a positive because it meant they could concentrate on the Premier League and UEFA Conference League. In PR terms, as well as his relationship with the fans, it was a huge own goal even though Chelsea went on to secure their targets of Champions League qualification and Conference League success. Advertisement 'Today that was for sure not progress; if anything, it was a step back. Maybe we disrespected the competition today, but this is football; if you don't prepare right, you will pay.' This is just some of what Reece James had to say after Chelsea's embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to Legia Warsaw in April. What James uttered to TNT Sport following the final whistle of the UEFA Conference League quarter-final second leg stood out for a few reasons, but particularly because this kind of rhetoric is not something you come to expect from the defender in front of a camera. It was the kind of damning appraisal former captain John Terry would provide after a poor display and it was good to see James, who has kept the armband under Maresca, follow suit. The tough words needed to be said, to give everyone the reality check they needed to spark an improvement. It is perhaps no coincidence that Chelsea went on to finish the campaign so strongly. Chelsea announcing a front of shirt sponsor with seven games remaining. Better late than never I suppose… Ahead of Chelsea's game at Wolves in August, Noni Madueke took to Instagram to declare of Wolverhampton: 'Everything about this place is 's**t'. Inevitably the locals were none too impressed and booed him ferociously. But to further secure Madueke's place as public enemy No 1 in the city, he scored his first and only hat-trick at senior level in a 6-2 victory. After expressing regret over the social media post, Madueke rather unconvincingly added, 'I'm sure Wolverhampton is a nice town'. Easier to say when walking off with the match ball. Kaoru Mitoma led Chelsea's defence a merry dance in Brighton's 3-0 Premier League victory in February. He also scored one of the finest goals in 2024-25, controlling a long kick from Bart Verbruggen superbly before beating Filip Jorgensen. Sky Sports commentator Jamie Carragher can be guilty of hyperbole but few argued with his assessment that Mitoma's first touch was 'Messi-like'. Advertisement I am going with an eight. Yes, Chelsea were favourites for the Conference League all along and have a squad that should be competing for a top-five spot. But Maresca still deserves credit for getting this young Chelsea squad over the line under intense pressure. Winning eight of the last nine matches to achieve the feat was particularly impressive. How many of the players that Chelsea don't want are actually sold. The 'bomb squad' was a negative distraction at the start of this season but the number involved in it could be even greater this time around. We are talking well into double figures. Chelsea are confident there will be a lot of outgoings. However, they failed to offload Raheem Sterling or Ben Chilwell on a permanent basis this season (both left on loan) and now they have other highly-paid players in Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku added to the mix. Estevao Willian, who completes his move from Palmeiras for an initial €34million ($38.6m; £29m) this summer, is a bargain. Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Chelsea to give Liam Delap major dilemma with £30million striker at risk of being in middle of club vs country row
LIAM DELAP'S first major test at Chelsea won't be on the pitch – it'll be navigating a club versus country row. Chelsea are closing in on the £30million striker having already agreed personal terms. 3 3 3 And they want him available for the Fifa Club World Cup this summer. But that tournament clashes with England's plans to include him in their squad for the Uefa Under-21 European Championship, which kicks off on June 12. Delap scored 12 goals and provided two assists for relegated Ipswich last season and his performances look to have secured a move to the capital. But he's about to get mixed up in some of the unwanted politics of the Beautiful Game. Delap reportedly had offers from Manchester United, Everton, and Chelsea. But journalist Ben Jacobs is reporting that that Thomas Tuchel convinced him a Champions League platform would boost his chances of making England's 2026 World Cup squad. Chelsea, fresh off winning the Europa Conference League, have wasted no time splashing the cash on Delap. United were believed to be front-runners to land the England Under-21 star. But a disastrous end to their season – in contrast to Chelsea's strong finish – is understood to have tipped the balance. Delap was also coached by Enzo Maresca during his time at Manchester City's academy, while Joe Shields – now at Chelsea – played a key role in bringing him from Derby to City back in 2019. SunSport understands all these factors played a key role in convincing one of England's brightest young talents to join Chelsea. But, as with every top club, Delap will need to get used to being at the heart of club vs country tug-of-wars whenever international and domestic duties overlap. Chelsea have had Nicolas Jackson leading the line over the last two seasons but he has failed to fully convince fans he is the man to take them forward.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Liam Delap set for Monday medical ahead of £30m Chelsea transfer
Chelsea are planning for Liam Delap to undergo his medical on Monday ahead of a proposed £30million ($40m) transfer from Ipswich Town. As reported by The Athletic on Thursday, Chelsea met the release clause in Delap's contract, which became active upon Ipswich's relegation from the Premier League, with the striker's preference to move to Stamford Bridge. The Athletic reported that sources at teams including Manchester United, Newcastle United, Everton, Nottingham Forest, AC Milan and Juventus had been informed the striker was heading elsewhere. Advertisement The England Under-21 international had multiple suitors after scoring 12 goals in 40 matches for Ipswich in his first season at the club following a £20m move from Manchester City last summer. Delap spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons across Championship loan spells at Stoke City, Preston North End, and Hull City, scoring 12 times across 70 matches. He made just six first-team appearances for Manchester City before departing the club in July last year. Chelsea had been keen to resolve their transfer business early in the transfer window in order to go into pre-season with a settled squad and to maximise the preparation time ahead of Enzo Maresca's second season. Recruiting a striker and right-footed winger was a priority for the club this summer. As reported by The Athletic, Chelsea have also held interest in Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike and RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko. A 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on the final day of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign secured Chelsea a fourth-placed finish and a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2022-23. Enzo Maresca finished his debut campaign in the Chelsea dugout with a Conference League trophy, after beating Real Betis 4-1 in the final on Wednesday.
