Chelsea are now the front-runners in the race to sign an “exceptional” £50m striker, despite interest from Premier League rivals Manchester United, according to reporter Ben Jacobs.
Chelsea short on striker options
Despite spending heavily in almost every transfer window since the arrival of Todd Boehly, the Blues find themselves a little light on striker options heading into a crucial stage of the season, with a number of forwards suffering injury setbacks.
Not only is Nicolas Jackson set for a prolonged period on the sidelines, but Marc Guiu has also been ruled out, with Enzo Maresca recently confirming the Spaniard could be out for quite some time.
“Marc Guiu, unfortunately, it’s a bad injury,” said the Blues boss. “Could be [long-term], yeah. We are still waiting but it doesn’t look a short injury. It’s a long injury. Probably weeks or months.”
As such, Christopher Nkunku is the obvious choice to lead the line, but that may not be the case beyond the end of the season, with it being revealed the Blues are now willing to cash in on the forward, and there is interest from Bayern Munich.
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The west Londoners are making transfer plans ahead of this summer.
Chelsea have been on the lookout for a new striker to potentially replace Nkunku, and reliable reporter Ben Jacobs recently told GiveMeSport the west London club are the front-runners in the race for Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap.
Even if Ipswich avoid relegation from the Premier League, Delap is set to leave, and there are indications he could be keen on a move to Stamford Bridge, as he is “intrigued” by Maresca’s project and the possibility of becoming Chelsea’s no.9.
Jacobs also states Manchester City are unlikely to activate their buy-back clause, with Ipswich instead set to hold out for a fee of around £50m.
“Exceptional” Delap keeping Ipswich’s survival hopes alive
Ipswich still have a fighting chance of avoiding the drop, and they owe a large part of that to their striker, who’s bagged nine of their 22 goals so far this season.
Pundit Glenn Murray lauded the 22-year-old as “exceptional” earlier in the campaign, and he has shown no signs of slowing down, bagging a goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory over the Blues in December, while also scoring against Southampton last time out.
With Nkunku potentially on the move at the end of the season, and doubt lingering over Jackson, who has been without a league goal since mid-December, it is clear the Blues will need to bring in a top-quality striker this summer.
Delap’s performances for Ipswich indicate he would be capable of making the step-up to one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs, so it is exciting news Chelsea are the front-runners for his signature.
