Liam Delap Completes Club-Record £50m Nottingham Forest Move

Nottingham Forest have completed the club-record signing of Liam Delap from Chelsea in a £50m deal, with the striker signing a five-year contract at the City Ground.

Liam Delap, 23, leaves Stamford Bridge after only one season and becomes the most expensive player in Forest’s history. Chelsea also make a £20m profit on the forward after signing him from Ipswich Town for £30m last summer.

“This is a massive club with a big history,” Delap said after completing the move.

“I spoke to the manager, Oliver Glasner, and I like his way. I think he can be the one to really help me develop and make that next step and hopefully I can bring goals here.

“As a team we can build something really strong and the main aim is to challenge and be a top club in the Premier League.”

Forest have made the major investment in Delap because of the potential he showed during his breakthrough season at Ipswich. The striker scored 12 Premier League goals in the 2024-25 campaign despite Ipswich winning only four games and suffering relegation.

Only Chelsea’s Cole Palmer scored more Premier League goals than Delap among players aged under 23 that season. His power, pace and ability to drive at defenders also made him one of the division’s most exciting young forwards, with his 26 shot-ending carries the highest total among Premier League strikers.

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy backed Delap to develop into Harry Kane’s long-term successor after his strong run at Ipswich.

“I would probably go as far as to say he is the obvious long-term successor to Kane,” Murphy said. “I think he is the best young English striker out there.

“I just don’t see a weakness for him. He has scored enough goals in a struggling side really, but if he gets a lot of chances he will score more.

“He has just got that lovely balance between physical and technical ability and rarely do you get both. He is a super talent.”

However, Delap’s move to Chelsea did not go to plan. He scored only three goals in 47 appearances and managed just one Premier League goal, with his shot conversion rate dropping to 2.8 per cent after reaching 17.7 per cent in his final season at Ipswich.

Three managerial changes, hamstring and shoulder injuries, and Chelsea’s possession-based approach all contributed to his struggles. While Ipswich regularly created space for him to attack on the counter, Chelsea’s patient build-up play restricted opportunities for him to carry the ball at pace.

Delap recorded just six shot-ending carries in the Premier League for Chelsea, compared with 26 for Ipswich and 38 during his previous Championship campaign with Hull City.

Discipline also remains an area Forest will hope to improve. Delap committed 72 fouls during the 2024-25 Premier League season and collected 12 yellow cards, while he won only 157 of the 413 duels he contested.