Liam Delap has completed a club record £50m transfer to Nottingham Forest from Chelsea. The striker has signed a five-year deal at the City Ground after just a year at Stamford Bridge. "This is a massive club with a big history," Delap said.
"I spoke to the manager (Oliver Glasner) and I like his way, I think he can be the one to really help me develop and make that next step and hopefully I can bring goals here. "As a team we can build something really strong and the main aim is to challenge and be a top club in the Premier League." In a summer of staggering transfer fees, the move stands out. An outlay of £50m for a striker who scored one league goal last season – at a £20m profit to Chelsea – has caught the eye.
But Delap is only 23 and has scored goals in the Premier League before. BBC Sport examines whether a move to Forest can reignite the career of a young player hoping to marry progress with his undoubted potential. The finest season of Delap's career to date was undoubtedly his first of regular football at the highest level.
When Ipswich paid an initial £15m for his services from Manchester City in July 2024, it appeared sensible business – a below market value fee for a promising England Under-21 international with the capacity to improve quickly. The faith of then Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was repaid in spades when Delap scored 12 goals in his first Premier League campaign in 2024-25 despite operating in a side that would win four games all season and go on to be relegated in 19th place. Key to his success at Portman Road was a manager who played to Delap's strengths of power, physicality and ability to carry the ball at pace.
He made 26 shot-ending carries that season – the most of any striker in the Premier League. A burst of six goals and one assist in the first 12 games of that campaign saw Delap earn widespread acclaim from former players. On Match of the Day in November 2024, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said: "I would probably go as far as to say he is the obvious long-term successor to [Harry] Kane.
I think he is the best young English striker out there. "I just don't see a weakness for him. He has scored enough goals in a struggling side really, but if he gets a lot of chances he will score more.
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