Nottingham Forest Pursue Liam Delap from Chelsea
Nottingham Forest have opened talks with Chelsea over a move for Liam Delap as Oliver Glasner pushes hard for a new striker before the window shuts, according to the Daily Mail.
Forest’s proposal on the table is an initial loan with an option to buy next summer. Glasner’s urgency is easy to understand. His side’s narrow 1-0 defeat to Leeds United at the weekend underlined a glaring issue: Forest are creating, but not killing games. The manager wants sharper teeth in the box, and Delap has emerged as a prime target.
Delap hits a wall at Chelsea
For Delap, the timing is telling. His Chelsea career has stalled badly.
He arrived from Ipswich Town with momentum and a growing reputation after an impressive spell at Portman Road, but the jump to Stamford Bridge has proved heavy. Expectations rose; his impact didn’t. One league goal in his debut Premier League season, and now he’s slipping out of the picture.
He didn’t even make it onto the pitch in Chelsea’s recent league win over Fulham. Inside the club, that omission has been read as the clearest sign yet that Chelsea are ready to listen to offers. The hierarchy are open to moving him on, even though he still has five years left on his contract.
The drop in status has been visible. Joao Pedro has taken the No.9 shirt for the new campaign, a symbolic move that confirms the shift in pecking order. Delap has been bumped to No.12, while Nicolas Jackson and summer signing Marc Guiu sit ahead of him in the centre-forward queue. Under Alonso, the route to regular minutes for the former Manchester City academy prospect is narrowing fast.
Forest lead the chase – but rivals circle
Forest are out in front, but they are not alone.
Several Premier League clubs have tracked Delap’s situation all summer. Ipswich Town, where he previously shone, have looked into bringing him back. Everton are also in the frame, hovering in the background and weighing up a loan move of their own if no permanent bids land for Chelsea’s forward.
Delap, for his part, is understood to want to stay in England. A move abroad has been on the table: Como, coached by Cesc Fabregas, showed interest in taking him to Serie A. Yet the striker is keen to prove himself in the Premier League, and is prepared to wait for the right domestic offer.
Forest’s rebuild gathers pace
At the City Ground, Delap is one piece of a wider rebuild.
Glasner has already overseen a busy summer. Forest paid £36m to bring in defender Ousmane Diomande from Sporting CP, a statement signing at the back. They have also moved smartly in the free agent market, adding midfielder Xaver Schlager and goalkeeper Steve Benda to deepen the squad.
Those arrivals have been made possible by one huge outgoing. Elliot Anderson’s £116m switch to Manchester City has injected serious cash into Forest’s plans and handed them the financial room to chase targets like Delap without breaking stride.
Forest’s recruitment drive in attack does not stop there. The club are also monitoring Newcastle United winger Jacob Murphy. Again, Everton are sniffing around the same player, setting up a familiar battle in the market. The profile is clear: players with Premier League minutes in their legs or high-upside talent who can adapt quickly to Glasner’s demands.
Chelsea trim the fat, Delap waits on the call
Chelsea, meanwhile, are trimming a bloated squad after Alonso’s overhaul. Squad numbers have been shuffled, established names nudged towards the exit, and several forwards – Delap among them – made available as the club tries to streamline.
For Delap, the next move feels decisive. Stay and risk another season on the fringes at Stamford Bridge, or jump now to a club ready to build around his potential?
Forest are pushing to be that club. Everton and others lurk in the shadows. The clock is ticking, and a young striker’s Premier League future is about to be defined by who blinks first in the final days of the window.
