Liam Delap | Official: signed for Chelsea

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Giggsyking said:
That is a stretch. Mildly is the right word.
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It isn't. Both clubs have been watching him closely. Simon Johnson has reported he's one of Chelsea's main striker targets and Luke Edwards reported last month that Newcastle are looking into signing him and see Delap's £30M release clause as very good value.
 
Still ill said:
He's a risk but then every SINGLE player in world football coming to OT these days is a risk. Nobody on here is comfortable with him as our primary source for goals next season, are they? That said, at 30 million, he has the potential to be a risk very much worth taking. I like his aggressive, confrontational style, I like his confidence, he doesn't seem to be the type of player that leaves no imprint on a game, does he?
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His technique dribbling the ball is not that good, he is similar to Hojlund in spending big part of the game wrestling defenders and fails (he does that alot) instead of being an intelligent striker to position himself in good positions with smart movement. To something he looks the opposite to what Amorim looked for in Gyökeres in his system, they are two different profiles.
 
Ekeke said:
So the only options are someone who is okay for Ipswich or someone who will want 200k+ a week?

Do you have some kind of condition where you can only see teams at the top and bottom of leagues?

We're already in relegation form. Signing the top scorer from a club that just got relegated is probably not going to change that is it? It didnt keep Ipswich up.

Regardless, none of that has anything to do with what I said. Its nonsense to suggest that even if he fails at United Delap will be able to be sold for around £30 million. Its more than he's worth now, so its paying for potential. If in 2 years he doesnt look like realizing that potential nobody will be offering that kind of money. Hojlund is a good example - 2 years ago he was valued a lot higher, hes failed here and how much do you think teams would offer for him now?

Lukaku is the only example I can think of where he was signed for a fee, didnt do what we hoped and then sold him for close to what we paid. I thought Van De Beek would be like that several years ago, we got next to nothing back. It doesnt work like that and thats when we're doing quite well. If we're in the bottom half of the table and a player has still failed at the club there isnt going to be much interest from teams who want to spend £30 million on a striker.
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DiMaria falls in to that category, the currency differences meant we basically got back roughly what we paid for him, I think we got most of what Schneiderlin cost back as well
 
Tom Van Persie said:
It isn't. Both clubs have been watching him closely. Simon Johnson has reported he's one of Chelsea's main striker targets and Luke Edwards reported last month that Newcastle are looking into signing him and see Delap's £30M release clause as very good value.
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Both clubs want him as a second option, do you really think this guy will start ahead of Isak?
 
ron86 said:
I think the lose in this situation is we have another season with a starting striker not scoring enough leaving us struggling
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10,11,15,12,9,9,5,11 - Guess what is it. Yes it is number of goals R. Firmino scored in the Prem for Liverpool. How underwhelming, basically beating Delap only once while playing for one of the most attacking team in the recent English history, compared to one of the weakest teams in the EPL.

Finally time to use your brain guys. Striker is not about goals alone. You can as well watch teletext and check statistics after the game if you think that Delap wouldnt bring enough. His hold up play, powerful and relentless style, strength, ball carrying ability and better presence in the box would definitely be an infinite upgrade on Hojlund.

He can definitely lead the line, and can very quickly develop into Gyokeres type of striker in a year. They have similar traits and one is playing in Portuguese league and one is already used to English football. Sure if we had infinite money, we could and should go for the Swede, but since we will be saving for other positions we might as well take a punt on cheap Delap. Without the clause he's definitely 40-50+ at the very least btw. he's got big potential and he will be a very decent English striker for the next few years. No brainer for 30m..
 
Poborsky's hair said:
Finally time to use your brain guys. Striker is not about goals alone.

He can definitely lead the line
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Classic number 9 strikers are all about scoring goals, do not reinvent football.
He is nowhere near a striker profile to be a playmer false 9 as the example you gave. His pasaing is average at best.
 
croadyman said:
Chelsea maybe want him as starter, however you are definitely right about Newcastle wanting him as backup
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I highly doubt even Chelsea wants him as first choice, they play another style football that the number 9 is more involved in the game than just a classic number 9. He will not displace Jackson.
 
Giggsyking said:
Classic number 9 strikers are all about scoring goals, do not reinvent football.
He is nowhere near a striker profile to be a playmer false 9 as the example you gave. His pasaing is average at best.
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I was told by a guy who's son was being scouted by several clubs, that the scouts have said there's been a bit of a shift towards out and out goalscorers at youth level.

There aren't many about because it's been an area that's kind of been neglected with the whole false 9 thing being the trend over the last 10 years or so.

In the meantime if teams that want a forward of that ilk, the likes of Delap, Gyökeres etc will be sought after because right now they offer the best of the traditional attributes. It's going to be a few years before we start seeing more and more old style 9s coming through.
 
Judas said:
You'd have spent 200m on him? It would have taken a laughable amount to get him from Levy. I don't get why its still brought up, it just seems silly.
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Think he could have been got for around 120m plus addons
 
Gandalf said:
This is where I am leaning. Cunha and another 10 with end product will take a lot of pressure off the CF position and will allow us to avoid buying the wrong player in this window and maybe address it the following year. If we can add 20 goals from other positions it will have a huge impact and if we have to rotate Hojlund/Zirkzee/Obi for another 12 months we may see better production from them when they are not being asked to do it all.
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It's not just about scoring goals. It's the all-round game that allows us to build attacks and creates space and opportunities for the other attackers, and those are things that Hojlund is utterly dreadful at. Not just bad, but literally worst in the league bad. He actively makes it significantly more difficult for our team to build attacks. There's been a slight improvement lately but for a significant portion of the season we were virtually playing with 10 men most games. Obi doesn't look ready and relying on him too much too early is a good way to destroy his confidence and hurt his development.

The only one I think there's any hope whatsoever for next season is Zirkzee if he continues the improvement we saw for the last couple of months before he got injured. If both the #10's provide a good goal threat, perhaps he could facilitate that and help them score enough that it makes up for his own relative lack of goal threat. But that's a very big risk.

Should also be noted that there's no guarantee there will be better options next season. The entire striker scene is weak and any player that really elevates themselves out from the pack will have numerous top clubs wanting them. So waiting for a season kind of feels like sticking with ETH at the start of this season, where we basically sacrificed a season with someone who clearly wasn't good enough just because we couldn't find someone that was a guaranteed success.

I have no idea if Delap is the right option, but I do think we need to sign a striker even if it's just a stop-gap for a season or two that can at least do the basics. Personally I'd lean towards someone a bit more experienced, but perhaps more experienced ones who are suited to the PL are also more expensive.
 
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Giggsyking said:
Classic number 9 strikers are all about scoring goals, do not reinvent football.
He is nowhere near a striker profile to be a playmer false 9 as the example you gave. His pasaing is average at best.
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Giggsyking said:
I highly doubt even Chelsea wants him as first choice, they play another style football that the number 9 is more involved in the game than just a classic number 9. He will not displace Jackson.
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Which is it? Delap has scored a third more goals than Jackson has this season whilst playing for a relegated side. I’ve watched Chelsea, and I’m not sure what you’re seeing in Jackson that’s so special, at all, other than perhaps his pace when running in behind.
 
croadyman said:
Think he could have been got for around 120m plus addons
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Highly unlikely, and even if Levy would have sanctioned that it's unlikely Kane would choose us over Bayern. He was leaving Spurs to win trophies, which Bayern are far more likely to provide than us in recent history. Sure we've still won some secondary trophies, but Bayern are a much surer bet especially for the bigger ones.
 
Giggsyking said:
His technique dribbling the ball is not that good, he is similar to Hojlund in spending big part of the game wrestling defenders and fails (he does that alot) instead of being an intelligent striker to position himself in good positions with smart movement. To something he looks the opposite to what Amorim looked for in Gyökeres in his system, they are two different profiles.
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On the other hand, journalist are saying Delap has all the hallmarks of a young gykoroes and we know what a great job amorim did developing him in his system.
 
croadyman said:
Think he could have been got for around 120m plus addons
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So Casemiro around the same age (at the time) for half that is a terrible piece of business yet Kane would have been a good one???
 
Poborsky's hair said:
10,11,15,12,9,9,5,11 - Guess what is it. Yes it is number of goals R. Firmino scored in the Prem for Liverpool. How underwhelming, basically beating Delap only once while playing for one of the most attacking team in the recent English history, compared to one of the weakest teams in the EPL.

Finally time to use your brain guys. Striker is not about goals alone. You can as well watch teletext and check statistics after the game if you think that Delap wouldnt bring enough. His hold up play, powerful and relentless style, strength, ball carrying ability and better presence in the box would definitely be an infinite upgrade on Hojlund.

He can definitely lead the line, and can very quickly develop into Gyokeres type of striker in a year. They have similar traits and one is playing in Portuguese league and one is already used to English football. Sure if we had infinite money, we could and should go for the Swede, but since we will be saving for other positions we might as well take a punt on cheap Delap. Without the clause he's definitely 40-50+ at the very least btw. he's got big potential and he will be a very decent English striker for the next few years. No brainer for 30m..
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I think I'd rather have a striker that scores goals. Seems an easier way to do football.
 
Poborsky's hair said:
10,11,15,12,9,9,5,11 - Guess what is it. Yes it is number of goals R. Firmino scored in the Prem for Liverpool. How underwhelming, basically beating Delap only once while playing for one of the most attacking team in the recent English history, compared to one of the weakest teams in the EPL.

Finally time to use your brain guys. Striker is not about goals alone. You can as well watch teletext and check statistics after the game if you think that Delap wouldnt bring enough. His hold up play, powerful and relentless style, strength, ball carrying ability and better presence in the box would definitely be an infinite upgrade on Hojlund.

He can definitely lead the line, and can very quickly develop into Gyokeres type of striker in a year. They have similar traits and one is playing in Portuguese league and one is already used to English football. Sure if we had infinite money, we could and should go for the Swede, but since we will be saving for other positions we might as well take a punt on cheap Delap. Without the clause he's definitely 40-50+ at the very least btw. he's got big potential and he will be a very decent English striker for the next few years. No brainer for 30m..
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It's probably why we were looking at Mateta as well. Have a strong focal no9 who can occupy both centrebacks and move a defensive line around is key to how amorim operates especially at sporting. So much of the play goes through the centre that you need a striker who can help create those spaces for your no10s to exploit.
 
I'm laughing do you not see the way Chelsea fans talk about Jackson?

They also have similar stats with Delap playing in a worse team.

Not saying he's my first choice but compared to holjund who's likely the worst starting striker in the league he might as well be El Fenomeno

Delap is a channel runner type striker. He's the sort of profile that suits the system if nothing else

Giggsyking said:
I highly doubt even Chelsea wants him as first choice, they play another style football that the number 9 is more involved in the game than just a classic number 9. He will not displace Jackson.
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Teja said:
Yep unfortunate. Anyway, Delap is fine! I'm more for Delap than unreasonable fees for a Mateta or Shick.
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I just hope he can cope with the enormous pressure of leading line here because Hojlund certainly couldn't. Personally think the club are making huge mistake not signing someone proven for him to learn from.
 
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croadyman said:
I just hope he can cope with the enormous pressure of leading line here because Hojlund certainly couldn't. Personally think the club are making huge mistake not signing someone proven for him to learn from.
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Yeah. It's embarrassing that a big Club like United, resort to having their centerback as a striker when chasing goals. It's just insane, and would never happen under SAF.
 
You dont get much for 30mil these days and I think Delap would be worth the risk. Still think it leaves us needing another though. Would personally be happy with Delap and Chris Wood. Wood is 33, wouldn't cost much at all and could step right in to lead the line. Handy bargain option in my opinion.
 
MadDogg said:
It's not just about scoring goals. It's the all-round game that allows us to build attacks and creates space and opportunities for the other attackers, and those are things that Hojlund is utterly dreadful at. Not just bad, but literally worst in the league bad. He actively makes it significantly more difficult for our team to build attacks. There's been a slight improvement lately but for a significant portion of the season we were virtually playing with 10 men most games. Obi doesn't look ready and relying on him too much too early is a good way to destroy his confidence and hurt his development.

The only one I think there's any hope whatsoever for next season is Zirkzee if he continues the improvement we saw for the last couple of months before he got injured. If both the #10's provide a good goal threat, perhaps he could facilitate that and help them score enough that it makes up for his own relative lack of goal threat. But that's a very big risk.

Should also be noted that there's no guarantee there will be better options next season. The entire striker scene is weak and any player that really elevates themselves out from the pack will have numerous top clubs wanting them. So waiting for a season kind of feels like sticking with ETH at the start of this season, where we basically sacrificed a season with someone who clearly wasn't good enough just because we couldn't find someone that was a guaranteed success.

I have no idea if Delap is the right option, but I do think we need to sign a striker even if it's just a stop-gap for a season or two that can at least do the basics. Personally I'd lean towards someone a bit more experienced, but perhaps more experienced ones who are suited to the PL are also more expensive.
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Well reasoned points, it's not like there is a guaranteed conveyor belt of strikers coming up and we are not certain we will the race for the next one if Hoijlund/Zirkzee and our other teething issues aren't resolved.

The main things going for Delap are that he has performed in this league at a young age, should he improve on this he will be a top player, his price isn't detrimental to our current team building objectives and we can move on from him relatively easily if he doesn't kick on.

A guaranteed 30 goal striker costing twice as much in fees and wages won't do much for us if we are still leaking goals and being inept in possession. He will just ensure that we won't finish 17th again but our issues will crop up again and derail us. We need to address the physical and technical issues throughout our squad if we are to emerge from this slump.
 
If the plan is Delap and Jonathan David on a free then I’m all for it as that’s a younger yet PL proven striker who needs to develop as well as an experienced striker who’s looking to take the next step to being a quality striker and that’d allow us to loan out Hojlund so he can rebuild his confidence away from the limelight.
 
I think we need an Osimhen personally. A player that can get on the end of balls.

My issue is we're going to play against low block literally all season, and we need two top wingbacks that can cross, a LF and a RF that are technical dribblers (Amad is the benchmark) Garnacho I think should be sold.

We need basically 2 Amads at LF and RF and wingbacks, plus a target man that outperforms xG and needs a chance a game
 
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