Forest agree £50m club-record deal for Chelsea striker Delap

Nottingham Forest have reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign 23-year-old striker Liam Delap for a fee worth around £50m, a new club record. Delap is expected to undergo a medical and sign a long-term deal at the City Ground this week.

Delap joined Chelsea from Ipswich Town just a year ago for £30m, having also attracted interest from Manchester United and Everton at the time. However, Chelsea placed him on the market this summer after he managed only one Premier League goal last season amid shoulder and hamstring injuries.

A busy summer of transfers

Forest have already been active in the transfer market this window, signing defender Ousmane Diomande from Sporting for £34m, along with free-agent additions Xaver Schlager, an Austrian midfielder, and goalkeeper Steve Benda. On the outgoing side, the club sold England midfielder Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for a club-record £116m, and striker Taiwo Awoniyi to Coventry City for £9m.

Delap would add competition up front alongside Chris Wood and Igor Jesus, neither of whom scored in Forest's 1-0 home defeat by Leeds in their Premier League season opener on Saturday. Chelsea, meanwhile, have already brought in two strikers of their own this summer, Emmanuel Emegha from Strasbourg and Danny Welbeck from Brighton.

Rise through the academy ranks

Delap started out in Derby County's youth setup before moving to Manchester City in 2019. He helped City lift the FA Youth Cup in 2019-20, then scored 24 goals in 20 Premier League 2 matches the following season as the club won the title. He made his senior City debut in September 2020, scoring in a 2-1 League Cup win over Bournemouth, before making his Premier League bow three days later in a 5-2 loss to Leicester.

Injuries limited his first-team chances at City, and between 2022 and 2024 he had loan spells in the Championship with Stoke, Preston North End and Hull City. City sold him to Ipswich for £20m in the summer of 2024, and he went on to score 12 goals in 37 Premier League appearances for the newly promoted club.