Chelsea confident in Delap chase as Osimhen HURDLE revealed

Cameron Smith

25 Apr 2025 13:15 BST
3 min read

Victor Osimhen, Liam Delap, Chelsea — © IMAGO

Chelsea are reportedly confident of beating Manchester United to the signing of Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap during the 2025 summer transfer window.

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The England U21 international is being chased by virtually every club in the Premier League due to an immense debut campaign at Portman Road and the fact he will be available for €35m when Ipswich’s relegation back to the Championship is officially confirmed.

Current ETV

Liam Delap

F (C), AM (R)

Ipswich Town

Liam Delap

F (C), AM (R)

Ipswich Town

ETV Range

€24.8M - €41.3M

Delap has scored 12 goals in 31 league games so far this season and FootballTransfers understands that Arsenal have added him onto their list of centre forward targets as Mikel Arteta looks to bring a reliable goalscorer to the club.

However, Chelsea and Man Utd are believed to be more likely destinations for Delap as things stand, and the former remain confident they will win the race for his signature.

Man Utd have recently been described as the frontrunners to land Delap, amid their pursuit of a Rasmus Hojlund replacement, with Ruben Amorim eager to finalise the Englishman’s arrival once a deal for Matheus Cunha is formally announced.

Despite this, GiveMeSport claim that Chelsea believe they have an “edge” over their rivals as they have been chasing the 22-year-old for longer than Man Utd and the fact that Amorim’s interest in Victor Osimhen could complicate their pursuit of Delap.

A move for Osimhen, 26, is being weighed by the Man Utd hierarchy and Chelsea reportedly believe this hurdle may help them secure a move for Delap this summer.

© IMAGO - Chelsea want to sign Liam Delap this summer

Victor Osimhen wage demands

Although Man Utd are interested in Osimhen, he is reportedly demanding an annual salary of €18m and this is currently a major issue for the Red Devils due to their current age structure.

FootballTransfers understands that Osimhen would also be open to joining Chelsea this summer, after his proposed move to Stamford Bridge fell through last year, although he may be forced to lower his wage expectations in order to join the west London giants.