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How Chelsea Made Huge Liam Delap Profit After Only Three Goals in One Year

Delap came with plenty of red flags but Chelsea still managed to almost double their money.
Grey Whitebloom
Liam Delap had an unhappy spell at Chelsea.
Liam Delap had an unhappy spell at Chelsea. / X/NFFC

Chelsea have somehow managed to bank potentially as much as $27.2 million (£20 million) in profit from the sale of Liam Delap to Nottingham Forest.

Delap’s Chelsea career only lasted a little over a year, but that was enough to transport him between both extremes of the reactionary spectrum.

After scoring a scuffed goal in his third ever appearance for the club, Delap was hurriedly upheld as the striker to break Chelsea’s cursed No. 9 shirt. The 23-year-old would find the net just twice more in 44 subsequent appearances, departing for Forest with a staggering tally of one goal in 28 Premier League appearances for the Blues. Delap, lest it be forgotten, found the net a dozen times for an Ipswich Town team which was relegated in 2025.

Liam Delap’s Dismal Chelsea Record

Enzo Maresca
Liam Delap proved to be a particularly underwhelming Chelsea recruit. / Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images
  • Appearances: 47
  • Goals: 3
  • Assists: 5
  • Yellow cards: 7
  • Red cards: 1

A serious hamstring injury on his full home debut for the club last August derailed his first few months in west London. By the time he returned to action at the end of October in a Carabao Cup clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Delap incited the wrath of then-manager Enzo Maresca with a pair of yellow cards in the space of seven minutes.

The Italian coach, who had overseen Delap’s prolific form in Manchester City’s youth team, described the “very stupid” sending off as “embarrassing.”

“Liam is a player who, when he’s on the pitch, is probably playing the game for himself and struggles to realize and listen to those around him,” Maresca damningly concluded.

The subsequent appointment of Liam Rosenior, Delap’s former manager at Hull City, couldn’t inspire any uptick in form. Yet, in spite of all those red flags, Chelsea still managed to extract a $68 million (£50 million) package from Forest, with $61.2 million (£45 million) guaranteed. Even after three goals in one year, Chelsea’s $40.8 million (£30 million) gamble has emphatically paid off.

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Why Chelsea Were Able to Get So Much for Liam Delap?

Chelsea were part of a frenzied scramble for Delap’s signature last summer. The likes of Manchester United, Everton and pretty much every other club even considering the prospect of signing a striker were fighting for the chance to sign up for what seemed like a no-brainer of a deal.

While the prospect of Delap blossoming into a top striker was naturally a point of consideration, the conditions of a potential deal were too inviting to turn down. Thanks to a clause in his Ipswich contract which was triggered by the club’s relegation, the center forward was available for a fixed fee of $40.8 million. At the age of 22, with an English passport and a double-digit haul in the Premier League, Delap felt criminally undervalued.

For comparison, that same summer Newcastle signed a 23-year-old Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart after one 12-goal Bundesliga season. Yet, he cost upwards of $87.5 million, more than double Delap.

The transfer market has only inflated over the subsequent 12 months. Sávio’s move to Tottenham Hotspur serves as an inviting (if extreme) example. Last summer, the Brazilian winger formerly known as Savinho was available for around $67 million (£50 million at the time), per BBC Sport. Fast forward a year and the same player moved to Spurs in a deal worth $116 million. During that intervening season, Sávio mustered a grand total of four goals—although, as Delap would attest, not anybody can reach that tally.

Forest would also argue that Delap’s disappointing Chelsea goal return comes with its caveats. The youngster was hardly alone in underperforming for the Blues last term as three different head coaches failed to consistently get a handle on a volatile locker room. Even the relatively impressive João Pedro at one stage last season went eight consecutive games without a shot on target.

It remains to be seen whether Forest manager Oliver Glasner can coax any improved form out of Delap but one thing is certain, it was a financially benefical deal for Chelsea.

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