Chelsea transfer news: Club legend claims Liam Delap will not fire Blues to Premier League title

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter

Published: June 6 2025 | 17:15

Last updated: June 8 2025 | 17:01

Chelsea legend Frank Sinclair weighs up whether Liam Delap has the credentials to fire the club to the Premier League title after his £30m transfer from Ipswich Town.

Chelsea legend Frank Sinclair has told Sports Mole that Liam Delap is not the forward who will fire Chelsea to a Premier League title.

Earlier this week, the Blues confirmed that they had signed the 22-year-old from Ipswich Town having activated his £30m relegation release clause.

Despite the Tractor Boys returning to the Championship after one year in the Premier League, Delap was still able to score 12 times.

Delap makes the switch to Stamford Bridge to provide competition for Nicolas Jackson, who failed to build on an encouraging first half of the campaign.

Furthermore, Delap is reuniting with several personnel - including Enzo Maresca and Cole Palmer - who he worked and played with during their time with Manchester City Under-21s.

Sinclair gives Delap opinion

Sinclair is no stranger to delivering success at Chelsea, lifting three pieces of silverware and winning one Player of the Year award during an eight-year stint with the club.

However, the former defender has reservations over whether Delap is the right choice to provide Maresca what he is craving in the final third.

In association with William Hill, the 53-year-old said: "Looking at Liam Delap, he has had a good season for Ipswich. To score 10+ goals in a team who are relegated is good and he would do a good job at Chelsea given the number of games they will play.

"If Delap is the one, I am not sure he will be able to push Chelsea to the title, but he is a good young striker and can learn from the current players Chelsea have."

Can Maresca get best out of Delap?

The fact that Delap has consistently been linked with Chelsea since impressing in the Premier League suggests that Maresca has been contemplating this signing for a while.

When they worked together for Man City Under-21s, Delap 24 goals from 20 appearances in Premier League 2, a standout record despite it being at a lower level.

Whether Delap is a success in West London will ultimately be dependent on goals, it clear that his physical attributes will offer more to the Blues attack than Jackson's.

In the past 12 seasons, only two players - Diego Costa and Palmer - have scored 20 or more times in a Premier League season, emphasising the level of challenge ahead for Delap.

On the flip side, it provides some leeway for expectations to be eased instead of comparisons being made with some of the more free-scoring frontmen across Europe.