Liverpool could sell three first team players this summerplaceholder image
Liverpool could sell three first team players this summer | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool are looking for a new No.9 this summer but they may have already missed out on the best option.
There is always an element of the unknown when signing any player even if Liverpool are capable of casting their net wider than most teams.
Arne Slot has a sizeable transfer budget to play with this summer and has been gradually working his way through an impressive list of targets, seemingly landing the names at the top of each list for each position in the process.
The record transfer of Florian Wirtz sees one of the continent’s most sought after talents arrive in the Premier League, but it is the No.9 position where there is so much uncertainty for Liverpool.
Liverpool have missed Liam Delap opportunity after impressive debut
English born players tend to come at a cost and with a premium which makes the £30m fee that Chelsea paid for Liam Delap seem, increasingly, like something of a bargain.
The 22-year old celebrated his debut season in the Premier League as a regular starter by scoring 12 goals in 37 games after seeing only a glimpse of the top-flight at Man City.
Having worked with Delap at City, Enzo Maresca knows exactly what the young striker is capable of with a Club World Cup debut that suggests Liverpool have missed out on a bargain.
Some players thrive under pressure and love to shoulder the weight of expectation that a No.9 shirt comes with, Delap’s debut, although brief, could be a sight of things to come.
His first impression was to bully a defender, his second was to make a clever run, beat the offside trap and then cut the ball back for Enzo Fernandez only for some good defending to save Los Angeles FC.
Where Nicolas Jackson was largely a peripheral figure, Delap imposed himself immediately and when he combined again with Fernandez, it showed that he is more than just a target man. Sometimes they make the best crossers of the ball because they know exactly where a forward wants it.
In 30 minutes, Delap had two key passes, created one big chance, and could easily have had two assists. He also left the LAFC centre-halves under no illusions that they had been in a game.
Liverpool should always be in for the best young English talent and it looks like Delap could be one that got away.
Delap on learning from Sergio Aguero and Erling Haaland
Speaking after sealing his move to Chelsea, Delap’s progress and education training with players like Sergio Aguero and Erling Haaland is clear to see: “I had a few loans and I learned a lot from then,” he Chelsea’s official website.
“You are a mixture of all these different experiences, so I’ve taken little bits from everywhere I’ve been and then built it together as one. I’m always learning and developing.”
“The most important thing for me last summer was going somewhere where I could play a lot of minutes. That was the opportunity I felt I needed, to go and express myself and show the player I am. Ipswich gave me that opportunity, which was so important, and I’m very grateful for that.”
Delap’s trajectory looks like an upward one, and Liverpool will now have to deal with him in the opposition when having him on their side looks like it would have been a more desirable outcome.
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