‘It was a bad move’ – Carragher tells Chelsea star he made a mistake joining the Blues | OneFootball

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher insists Liam Delap should have chosen to go elsewhere in the summer as his transfer to Chelsea was “a bad move”.

The Blues signed Delap from Ipswich Town in a deal worth £30m in the summer transfer window after months of speculation over which club he would join.

Delap has not been a regular feature in the Chelsea starting XI with the former England Under-21 international only starting four matches since the turn of the year.

The 23-year-old has started 11 of his 23 appearances in all competitions this season with nine of those coming in the Premier League.

And Carragher reckons Delap made a bad decision to move to Chelsea over the summer and reckons the jump has been “too big” for the former Man City academy graduate.

Carragher said on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast: “It was a bad move. Honestly, it was a bad move going to Chelsea.

“I just think young players, when they’re on a journey and getting better… the jump from Ipswich and Chelsea was too big, he needed somewhere in the middle.

“Somewhere like Everton. If you play centre forward for Everton and play every game and know even if you have a few bad games you’re still going to play.

“Whereas at Chelsea he’s never sure he’s going to play, even if he starts. Sometimes the jump is too big, you need that team in the middle.”

Former Liverpool and England striker Emile Heskey reckons Delap needs to work on “his hold-up play” as a priority if he wants to make it at Chelsea.

Heskey told aGamble: “Liam Delap needs to concentrate on improving his hold-up play. It’s such an important asset because it affects how your teammates play with you.

“They want a striker who they can be confident in firing the ball into, knowing it will stick. I think Delap needs to focus on that and spend more time on it.

“It is difficult, though, because a lot of the time people only care about goals and assists, but I still believe overall play is very important for him.”

Heskey added: “Despite this, I think he was right to move to Chelsea in the summer. He believes he’s good enough to play for a top club, so he was right to take the opportunity.

“He understands the pressure that comes with playing for such a big club because he was in the Manchester City academy and that will help him.

“He just needs to find his feet, and that may take until next season. I think he will come good.”