Delap poised to swap Chelsea struggle for Nottingham Forest revival bid

Liam Delap is close to ending a difficult spell at Chelsea, with the England striker reportedly set to join Nottingham Forest in a deal worth about £40m.

The move would allow Chelsea to make a financial profit on a player who had increasingly been viewed as an underwhelming signing. The London club paid Ipswich Town £30m for Delap last summer, according to The Sun.

Delap struggled to establish himself during his first season at Stamford Bridge. He scored only once in the Premier League, finding the net against Fulham in January, as Chelsea endured a difficult campaign in front of goal.

The striker’s lack of impact became so pronounced that some Chelsea supporters called for Nicolas Jackson to return from his loan spell at Bayern Munich. Jackson had been away from the club while Chelsea searched for greater consistency in attack.

Nottingham Forest’s pursuit of Delap is understood to have been driven by their new manager, Oliver Glasner. The Austrian is among the highest-paid managers in the Premier League and is seeking strong backing from the club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, in the transfer market.

Glasner’s previous spell at Crystal Palace was marked by well-publicised disagreements with the club’s hierarchy over its financial ambitions. At Forest, he is looking for the resources to reshape a squad capable of meeting the club’s attacking needs.

Forest are attempting to strengthen their forward line after beginning the season with a disappointing 1-0 defeat by Leeds United. Igor Jesus and Chris Wood were unable to provide the required attacking threat in that opening fixture, while Taiwo Awoniyi has left the club to join Coventry City for £9m.

The club hope Delap can rediscover the form he showed at Ipswich Town, where he scored 12 goals two years ago. His performances during that period helped establish him as one of England’s promising young forwards, but he was unable to reproduce that level consistently at Chelsea.

A formal confirmation of the transfer could come before the end of the week, with Chelsea continuing to reorganise their attacking options under new head coach Xabi Alonso.

Chelsea have already added experienced forward Danny Welbeck to provide support for Joao Pedro. They have also completed the signing of Emanuel Emegha from French club Strasbourg.

Jackson has returned to Chelsea after his loan spell ended, although Aston Villa are reportedly seriously interested in signing him before the transfer window closes. His future remains uncertain as Chelsea assess their options in attack and consider how best to balance their squad.

For Forest, Delap would represent both an attempt to address an immediate goalscoring problem and an opportunity to revive the career of a forward whose reputation was damaged by an unsuccessful first season at Stamford Bridge.