Delap ‘wants to stay and fight’ for Chelsea career — report

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: Liam Delap of Chelsea arrives prior to the Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Chelsea and Leeds United on April 26, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling - The FA/The FA via Getty Images) | The FA via Getty Images The first time most of us watched Liam Delap in action, we surely all came away quite impressed. It was December in the middle of last season, at Portman Road, and the young striker single-handedly grafted his way a Man of the Match performance in leading Ipswich Town to a 2-0 win against Chelsea.

It would be their one and only league win at home all season. Throughout that entire game, Delap tormented our defenders with his direct, powerful running and no-nonsense approach. He won and converted a penalty early on, then set up their second at the start of the second half.

And he also collected a yellow card. That’s the football equivalent of the Gordie Howe hat-trick : one goal, one assist, one fight. He would finish the season with 12 goals and 2 assists in 37 Premier League appearances; not exactly gaudy numbers but impressive enough to warrant plenty of transfer interest.

He looked set to stay in the top flight even as Ipswich went down, and as it turned out, he would do said staying with us. Chelsea got the deal done quickly, activating the £30m release clause in his contract and signing him before the Club World Cup. He played in all but one of our seven games as we become (Club) World Champions, missing only the semifinal through yellow card accumulation.