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£40m price set: Chelsea open to offers for recent signing as PL club on alert

Chelsea are reportedly expected to be open to offers for flop striker Liam Delap this summer, with Newcastle United named as potential suitors.

Delap already spoke with Newcastle manager Eddie Howe while he was at Ipswich Town, before ultimately deciding on the move to Stamford Bridge.

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That’s according to talkSPORT, who suggest that the 23-year-old forward could now be available for something in the region of £40m.

Delap scored an impressive 12 goals in 37 Premier League games for Ipswich, which led to plenty of interest in him last summer.

Still, there’s no getting away from the fact that he’s been a disappointment at Chelsea, scoring only one league goal so far.

Liam Delap transfer could be risky for Newcastle United

As we reported yesterday, Delap doesn’t look like an ideal fit for Newcastle right now, even if they could do with strengthening up front.

The Magpies urgently need a top class replacement for Alexander Isak, with neither Nick Woltemade or Yoane Wissa delivering for the club so far.

Liam Delap TOTAL SCORE: 8/25
Transfer fee **
Performance
Achievements
Career phase ***
Squad need ***

As you can see in the table above, Delap scored just 8/25 using our Transfer Fit rating system (more detail on how it works here), which is a low score mostly based on the fact that his recent form is poor and he doesn’t have enough of an overall track record to make up for it.

NUFC can surely find a better way to spend £40m, or, even better than that, try for a more expensive player who might prove the better investment in the long run anyway.

Delap’s fee isn’t crazily high, but that doesn’t mean he’s right for Newcastle at the moment, with Howe’s side in need of a strong window to make up for the chaos of last summer when they fought long and hard to keep Isak only to lose him anyway and end up with inadequate replacements.

The post £40m price set: Chelsea open to offers for recent signing as PL club on alert appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Newcastle United showing strong interest in double Chelsea transfer raid

Newcastle United are reportedly interested in both Chelsea strikers Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson, according to TEAMtalk.

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The Magpies could do with strengthening up front after a disappointing season in which they have failed to replicate the success of their previous campaign.

Newcastle won the Carabao Cup final and qualified for the Champions League last term, but have suffered since selling Alexander Isak to Liverpool.

So far, Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa haven’t performed well at Newcastle, so bringing in someone like Jackson or Delap could be a good move.

Still, some NUFC supporters might also be slightly underwhelmed, as both players have largely flopped at Chelsea.

Could Liam Delap revive his career at Newcastle?

Delap is still only in his first season at Chelsea, but he’s clearly found it a big step up from his time at former club Ipswich Town.

The 23-year-old scored 12 goals in 37 games for Ipswich last season, standing out as a top performer even if the club ended up getting relegated.

This season, Delap has managed just one league goal in 21 appearances for the Blues, and it could lead to speedy exit.

Newcastle might bank on Delap getting back to his best, but it would certainly be a gamble, and even if he has some potential, he’s currently a long way from being someone who could replace a world class forward like Isak…

Liam Delap TOTAL SCORE: 8/25
Transfer fee **
Performance
Achievements
Career phase ***
Squad need ***

As you can see, Delap gets a low score with our Transfer Fit rating system (find out more about how it works here), suggesting that whatever his price would be, it would likely be well above what he’s truly worth.

Newcastle clearly need a striker and Delap is young enough that he could still turn his career around, but there’s not really enough there to suggest he’s at the level Eddie Howe’s side really need.

Could Nicolas Jackson do a job for Newcastle?

Jackson, meanwhile, has a slightly better scoring record at the highest level, even if he wasn’t quite up to Chelsea standards.

The Senegal international has also been pretty underwhelming on loan at Bayern Munich, but in fairness to him he’s struggled for playing time due to being behind Harry Kane in the pecking order.

Here’s how we scored him for Newcastle – slightly above Delap. Do you agree with our verdict? Let us know in the comments!

Nicolas Jackson TOTAL SCORE: 12/25
Transfer fee **
Performance **
Achievements **
Career phase ***
Squad need ***

The post Newcastle United showing strong interest in double Chelsea transfer raid appeared first on CaughtOffside.

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