In our latest Everton FC midweek debate for Liverpool ECHO Premium subscribers, Joe Thomas and Pal Wheelock discuss the merits of making a fresh move for Chelsea striker Liam Delap
WREXHAM, WALES - MARCH 7: Liam Delap of Chelsea during the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round match between Wrexham and Chelsea at Racecourse Ground on March 7, 2026 in Wrexham, Wales. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Liam Delap of Chelsea during the FA Cup fifth-round match at Wrexham earlier this month(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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In terms of Everton's biggest games of the season, Saturday's first-ever visit of Chelsea to Hill Dickinson Stadium (5.30pm kick-off) could prove to be pivotal.
Everton are locked in a fierce battle for European football with a whole host of Premier league clubs. Just five points separate seventh-placed Brentford, who sit one position and two points above the Blues, and 13th-placed Sunderland.
And with Brentford not playing until the 8pm kick-off later in the evening, when they travel to relegation-threatened Leeds United, David Moyes' men know victory over Chelsea would haul them into seventh.
And, intriguingly, victory would also bring their big-spending opponents into play.
Chelsea currently sit sixth, five points above Everton.
So that will be the big narrative surrounding the contest. But another will be Liam Delap.
The England Under-21 international signed for Chelsea, who last night exited the Champions League at the hands of holders Paris Saint-Germain, in the summer after they triggered the £30m relegation release clause in his Ipswich Town contract.
But that was only after Moyes held talks with Delap, who was said to have been impressed by the Everton manager's sales pitch.
Having lost out on their top striker target, the Blues turned to Thierno Barry, but it would be fair to say the £27m signing from Villarreal, along with Beto, has not fully convinced.
Saying that, neither has Delap at Stamford Bridge.
So, if the 23-year-old was made available this summer, should Everton be interested? Our writers have their say...
Joe Thomas
The answer is straightforward for me: Yes. Everton need a forward like Liam Delap. I think Delap needs a club like Everton. I can forgive him being tempted into the Chelsea project last summer, few would have turned it down despite the danger of it not working out. When the club spent big on Joao Pedro a few weeks after Delap joined, I did feel for him a bit.
None of this is to say it cannot work out at Stamford Bridge for Delap - or for Thierno Barry at Everton. Unless Beto sets the world alight in the run-in, I would not be surprised to see him seek a new opportunity in the summer and Everton look for someone who can offer competition and cover for Barry.
Delap would be perfect, and as a more traditional No.9 he would offer an alternative to what Everton have right now.
I was sat in my press seat early at Goodison when Ipswich visited last season and watched with interest as Delap wondered the pitch and took the scene in by himself. It just looked right and Everton really do think they were close to winning him over in the summer.
He has had his injury issues but Chelsea tend to move on pretty quick so unless he hits his stride in the coming weeks I would not be surprised if they were open to offers in the summer. The two clubs have a good working relationship - Ishe Samuels-Smith, Armando Broja, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyrique George have all moved between the teams recently.
I suspect Chelsea would like to make a profit if they were to let Delap go and that might be troublesome, but this is a season where it has been clear that Everton need a reliable striker.
If they had one they would almost certainly be above Chelsea right now.
Delap is an obvious target for the summer and I wonder if a loan deal that included an option to make it permanent if he settles would be on the table.
I like Delap. Moyes likes Delap. I think he would like Everton.
Paul Wheelock
While he did not impress at Goodison Park when Ipswich Town fought back to draw 2-2 in May last year, everything Liam Delap had done up until that point in his first full season in the Premier League suggested he was an Everton centre-forward in waiting.
Fast, physical and direct, there was much excitement when he popped into 37 Goodison Road across from the famous old ground after its penultimate men's first-team match to add his signature to the many others that adorned the hallway.
The fact that David Moyes was happy to go public with his interest in Delap also raised hopes, as did the fact that the talks the pair subsequently held also reportedly went down well.
Alas, the England prospect instead decided to link back up with Enzo Maresca after previously working with the Chelsea head coach when he was at Manchester City.
However, Maresca has since left Stamford Bridge and although Delap is now under the command of another of his former managers who believes in him, in Liam Rosenior, his form hasn't improved.
While not helped by the fact that he has a superior player as his main competition for a starting spot, in the excellent Joao Pedro, the 23-year-old's tally of just two goals in 31 appearances, 13 of which have come from the start, is not the return he or Chelsea would have wanted.
And it is tally that is worse than the man Everton turned to after being turned down by Delap. Thierno Barry has six goals in 33 appearances and certainly since December has shown signs of promise.
However, a nagging doubt remains over whether he truly can become the club's long-term No.9. The same has long been said, of course, about the popular Beto.
So if Delap does become available in the summer, the question Moyes must ask is: Does he believe that Delap is better than both of his current options?
Despite his struggles at Stamford Bridge, I think the former Man City youngster does have a higher ceiling than Barry and does boast the attributes Evertonians like to see in their frontmen more so than than the £27m arrival from Villarreal.
But I wouldn't necessarily jettison Barry, who has shown, given the chances, he is an adept finisher. Instead, I would look to cash in on Beto who, come the summer, will have just one year left on his contract.
And if that transpires, I wouldn't be against Moyes going back in for Delap, providing Chelsea do not want much more than they paid for him. His form so far this season does not justify that.