Liam Delap: Next Chelsea Player Linked to Como Move

Liam Delap could be the next Chelsea player heading to Como, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the ambitious Italian club have made an initial move for the striker.

For much of the day, the noise around Stamford Bridge had centred on Enzo Fernandez and his long-rumoured switch to Manchester City. That saga has been bubbling for months. Then, suddenly, a different name cut through the transfer static.

Liam Delap.

Como return to raid Chelsea

Delap has only been a Chelsea player for a year, but his first season could hardly have gone worse. Expectations were high; the output was not. Now, with his stock low and his pathway in west London increasingly crowded, a clean break looks like the sensible outcome for everyone involved.

Como, who have already struck a deal with Chelsea for Trevoh Chalobah, are now turning their attention to Delap. According to Romano, the former Ipswich forward is “high on the shortlist” for Cesc Fabregas’ side, and the Italian club have already made an initial approach.

The interest is timely. With roughly two weeks left in the transfer window, Como are short on time to secure a centre-forward, and Delap has emerged as a serious option.

Permanent sale or another loan?

At this stage, there is no clear indication that talks are built around a loan. Any temporary move would also eat into Chelsea’s limited foreign loan slots, a factor the club weigh carefully every summer.

Even so, given Delap’s long contract and his diminished market value after a difficult campaign, a loan cannot be ruled out as a mechanism to rebuild his reputation and protect Chelsea’s asset.

What is clear is that, after a year that never really got going at Stamford Bridge, Delap’s future now looks far more likely to be shaped on the shores of Lake Como than under the lights at the Bridge.