Xabi Alonso's ruthless Chelsea rebuild is set to continue with the sale of Liam Delap, who only joined the club last summer
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso's Chelsea have agreed to sell Liam Delap to Nottingham Forest in a £50m deal(Image: (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images))
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Chelsea have agreed to sell Liam Delap to Nottingham Forest in a £50m deal inclusive of add-ons, football.london understands. The English striker is set to move on after just 12 months at Stamford Bridge with the Blues making a profit on him after activating a £30m relegation clause in his Ipswich Town contract last summer.
Talks initially started over a potential loan move but Delap will actually be making a permanent switch with a medical expected to take place later this week.
The 23-year-old struggled to make an impact early on and was immediately outshined by fellow new signing Joao Pedro. Following the arrival of Danny Welbeck, new manager Xabi Alonso had five strikers in his squad and it was eventually decided that Delap and Nicolas Jackson would be free to depart.
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The latter is a target for Aston Villa and while former club Ipswich and Everton were interested in signing Delap, he is set to link up with Oliver Glasner at the City Ground.
Chelsea have been very busy in this summer's window. Four players made their competitive debuts in the 3-2 win over Fulham on Monday evening.
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Record signing Morgan Rogers scored while new central defender Maxence Lacroix registered an assist. Pep Chavarria and Geovany Quenda were also brought on as substitutes in the second half.
Jordan Henderson and Marco Palestra were at Craven Cottage but did not make the matchday squad. Delap is set to follow Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah, Andrey Santos and Tyrique George out of west London on a permanent basis.
Liam Delap
Liam Delap will leave Chelsea having scored just three goals in 47 appearances for the club
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Benoit Badiashile, Alejandro Garnacho and Filip Jorgensen have also competed loan moves with various buy options and obligations included.
More exits could yet be sanctioned in the remaining eight days of the summer window with Manchester City target Enzo Fernandez undoubtedly the biggest name who could move on. Despite Moises Caicedo being absent through injury, he was named on the bench with his every touch booed once he came on midway through the second half.
Speaking on the Argentine, Alonso said: "In football, I am not surprised by anything. We will see. My wish is that we know what will happen for the future but we will see this week.”