Sam Delap: England's Next Great No.9?

The search for England’s next great No.9 has been running for years, mostly in theory. At Manchester City’s academy, it felt real. As a teenager bullying defenders and then breaking through on loan at Ipswich in the Premier League, Delap was quickly framed as the natural heir to Harry Kane – the one who might one day inherit the “King Kane” crown.

That storyline stalled at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea paid £30 million ($40m) to get him, convinced they were buying a long-term spearhead. Instead, Delap left with a FIFA Club World Cup medal but only three goals from 47 appearances in all competitions. For a striker sold as a ruthless finisher, those numbers hurt. His reputation took a dent in west London, his confidence with it.

Nottingham Forest saw something different.

They tore up their own transfer record in the summer of 2026, putting down £50m ($67m) to make Delap their statement signing. Big fee, big responsibility, big chance. Early signs are promising: he has already opened his account for the Reds and has looked sharp, aggressive and hungry in his first outings at the City Ground.

This is what he has needed: minutes, trust, a team built to use his strengths. Regular starts on the Trent should give the burly forward the rhythm and belief that deserted him at Chelsea. Every striker lives on confidence and a manager’s backing; without those, even the most natural finisher can look lost.

If the goals start to flow in Forest red, the conversation will move quickly.

Delap, capped 12 times at U21 level, has long been on England’s radar. With Kane still carrying the national team’s scoring burden at 33 and showing little sign of slowing down, the question is no longer whether he will be overtaken, but who even dares to line up behind him. England are desperate for proof that there is life after their record-breaking captain.

Right now, there are not many obvious candidates. Kane keeps scoring, keeps starting, keeps dragging the bar higher. Delap is one of the few trying to chase that distant shadow, alongside 17-year-old Aston Villa prodigy Brian Madjo, who is already being talked about as the next wonderkid in claret and blue.

Ask a former England striker who might wear that shirt next, and you get a pause.

Speaking to GOAL in association with BetWright Premier League betting, Bobby Zamora did not pretend to have a neat answer. “I really don't know. Harry Kane is extremely, extremely special. There aren't many of him and to try and fill his boots, is firstly going to be a very, very tall task. I don't know who that person is that's going to come in,” he admitted.

Then he circled back to Delap.

“Potentially Delap. I'm interested to see how he takes the knock of the Chelsea situation. I actually thought he was going to be something really special. He's taken a little bit of a knock and I'm interested to see how he copes with that from the trajectory that he was on, aiming for the stars, taking a blip with injuries and inconsistencies and not as many goals as he probably would have liked at Chelsea. But yeah, he's potentially one.

“I think he needs to fit into the right sort of team. He has to fit into the right sort of team, but Harry's a very hard one to follow.”

That “right sort of team” may now be Forest. A club that will tolerate his misses as long as the work-rate stays high and the runs keep coming. A fanbase that loves a centre-forward who fights as well as finishes. A manager willing to build patterns around his movement rather than asking him to improvise on scraps.

Kane’s numbers set a brutal standard. Eighty-five goals for England already, and he will fully expect to smash through the 100-goal barrier and join the rare group of international centurions before he even thinks about retirement. He is just four caps shy of Peter Shilton’s all-time appearance record as well. Every time he pulls on the shirt, another line in the history books.

When he finally steps away from the Three Lions, the void will be enormous. Someone will have to walk into that space, take the same shirt, accept the same scrutiny, live with the same comparisons.

Delap believes Forest is the platform to prove he can be that man. Now he has to turn that belief into goals – or watch someone else seize the chance to follow in legendary footsteps.