“We should not underestimate" - Fabrizio Romano confirms Chelsea interest in signing former Manchester City star

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Chelsea's interest in former Manchester City striker Liam Delap. The 21-year-old has been impressive for Ipswich Town in the Premier League despite Kieran McKenna's side struggling in the relegation spots.

Chelsea will take on the Tractor Boys on Monday, December 30, at Portman Road and Enzo Maresca was full of praise for Delap in his pre-match press conference. The Blues' boss tipped the former Manchester City youngster to have a bright future and become an important player for England as well.

Incidentally, Maresca worked with Delap at Manchester City when he was the Cityzens' under-21 manager. Delap played 22 times under Maresca at youth level, scoring 27 times while producing six assists. Lauding the young striker, the Italian manager said, as quoted by TBR Football:

“Liam is a fantastic player, and also for his age. I think we spent one year together and he scored [about] 22 to 24 goals. He is a very good striker. England have many good players, many good strikers [but] he’s working hard off the ball and on the ball, understands the game and can score goals. I think he can be an important player for England.”

Fabrizio Romano has now claimed that Chelsea are indeed keen on Delap as they look to bolster their attacking options. The Italian journalist claimed that while a January transfer is unlikely, the Blues could move for the ex-Manchester City attacker in the summer. He said, as quoted by TBR Football:

“We should not underestimate what Enzo Maresca said on Liam Delap. Delap is a former Manchester City player, he used to work with Enzo Maresca – he knows him well. So the feeling is very positive. Maresca said how good Delap is in his opinion and some very good words."

“So he’s considered a very good player internally at Chelsea. Now, for January he looks unlikely to find a solution for Delap to leave Ipswich in this situation, so he could be a name to watch in the summer," Romano added.

Romano insisted that Chelsea are fully happy with Nicolas Jackson up front but believe they could do with another striker next season. They are expecting Champions League football next season and are understood to be keen on Delap to provide competition for Jackson. The transfer expert said:

“The expectation is for the summer, in terms of a new striker at Chelsea, something could still happen. It doesn’t mean they are unhappy with Nicolas Jackson, they are very happy with him, he’s doing very well, but Chelsea hope to be back in the Champions League next season so they will need more depth in terms of strikers and so Delap is a player they have been monitoring. He is not the only name, but one to watch.”

Liam Delap, son of former Premier League midfielder Rory Delap, came through the youth ranks of Derby County before joining Manchester City in 2019. He only made six senior appearances for the Cityzens and had three loan spells with Stoke City, Preston and Hull City.

He joined Ipswich Town in the summer in a reported £20 million deal and has impressed for the newly promoted side. The Englishman has scored six goals in 17 Premier League games while also providing an assist.

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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca opens up on Manchester City's recent struggles

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has backed Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola amid the Cityzens' poor run of form. The reigning Premier League champions have won just one of their last 13 games across competitions.

The Sky Blues, who won four successive league titles in the last four seasons, are seventh in the table with a 14-point deficit from Liverpool. They are also struggling in the Champions League, sitting 22nd in the league table after six games.

Maresca, who formerly worked with Guardiola at the Etihad, has claimed that he has talked with the Spaniard recently. The Chelsea manager said, via the Standand:

"I spoke with Pep yesterday and he is completely calm and knows exactly what has happened there. But the one thing we know in football is that because of the situation they have there, people are waiting for something bad to happen so they can be happy."

The Italian manager added:

"When you see someone being so successful season after season, the moment they drop, people love to say: 'Ah, look, he is not good enough.' But I don't think that is the correct thing to do."

Maresca previously served Manchester City in two different capacities. He worked as their under-23 manager in 2020-21 and as Guardiola's assistant in 2022-23.