Two New Premier League Clubs Join Race For Chelsea Striker | OneFootball

Chelsea have made their decisions over strikers as they prepare for the new season. Video Credit: Absolute Chelsea

Liam Delap may get his preferred Premier League move, with several clubs in the competition showing interest ahead of an expected exit from Chelsea.

As previously reported, Chelsea have made the decision to keep Emannuel Emegha, who joined from RC Strasbourg on a pre-agreed deal this summer.

This means Emegha, Joao Pedro, and Danny Welbeck will be Xabi Alonso’s three striker options for the 2026/27 season.

The split in Chelsea training into two groups, Alonso’s main first-team squad and the second group, also supports this claim.

Both Delap and Nicolas Jackson are understood to have been training with the second group.

The two strikers are expected to leave Chelsea on permanent deals this summer, and each has attracted interest from several clubs.

Chelsea have set an asking price for Delap at £50 million, a significant increase in valuation compared to when he joined the club from Ipswich Town for a £30m fee last year.

Serie A side Como previously showed interest in Delap, but the striker was reportedly keen to stay in the Premier League if he left Chelsea.

Delap may have Premier League options

According to Ben Jacobs, several Premier League clubs have now joined the race for the 22-year-old. Nottingham Forest and Leeds United are in the race, while Everton have also shown interest in the striker.

However, these potential suitors believe they can convince Chelsea to sell the striker for £40m.

It remains unclear whether Chelsea would agree to a lower fee, but high interest in the striker, who had an underwhelming debut season at Stamford Bridge, is positive news.

Delap, who remains under contract at Chelsea until the summer of 2031, finished last season with just two goals and four assists from 41 appearances across all competitions.

It is worth noting that the young striker dealt with a few injuries in his first season that clearly affected his performance.

According to The Telegraph, fellow out-of-favour Chelsea striker Jackson is subject to interest from Aston Villa.

Aston Villa are expected to be in the market for a new striker to replace Ollie Watkins, who continues to be linked with a potential move to Saudi side Al-Hilal.

Jackson has also been linked to Atletico Madrid, but the Spanish club are looking to sign him on loan, which Chelsea are not interested in.

The 25-year-old already spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich and had to return to London after failing to trigger the conditional obligation-to-buy clause in his deal.

He had a decent season in Germany, scoring 11 goals and adding four assists in 34 appearances across all competitions for the Bundesliga champions.

Jackson is valued slightly higher than Delap at £65m and is under contract at Chelsea until the summer of 2033.