Chelsea have agreed to sell Liam Delap to Nottingham Forest in a deal that could be worth £50m to the Blues. Forest were in contact with Delap's representatives on Monday and had shown keenness to sign the English striker.
Standard Sport understands talks between the clubs followed, with Forest set to sign the striker for £45m plus a further £5m in add-ons.
Profit expected on striker
A sale of that magnitude will be viewed as a success by Chelsea, who placed a valuation of £50m on the player this summer once they decided they were willing to sell him. Chelsea's preference was always a sale rather than a loan for the 23-year-old, who struggled in his debut season for the Blues last term.
Delap joined Chelsea ahead of the 2025 Club World Cup after the Blues beat off interest from Manchester United and Everton to sign him from Ipswich Town, triggering his £30m relegation release clause. Chelsea are therefore expected to turn a profit on the former England youth international.
Struggles at Stamford Bridge
Delap found starts hard to come by in the Premier League and Champions League last season due to a mixture of injury issues and the strong form of Joao Pedro, another summer 2025 signing. He leaves having scored just three goals and assisted five in 47 appearances across all competitions.
His chances of featuring regularly for Chelsea in the 2026/27 season were hurt by the summer signing of Emmanuel Emegha. Marc Guiu and Nicolas Jackson are both expected to follow him out of the club.
