Liam Delap was 1 of this summer's most-wanted strikers.
The 22-year-old scored 12 goals successful 37 Premier League games for Ipswich, with his tantalising £30m merchandise clause attracting galore suitors aft the nine was relegated backmost to the Championship.
He was fixed support to talk to clubs successful May, with Manchester United, Everton, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest each showing superior involvement portion Manchester City besides held a buy-back enactment connected their erstwhile player.
But it was Chelsea who won the contention for his signature and, speaking earlier the Blues' last Club World Cup radical crippled against Es Tunis connected Wednesday, Delap has revealed wherefore - including the propulsion of Europe and rejoining immoderate acquainted faces.
"You ne'er cognize if it is going to beryllium the close determination but you've conscionable got to spell with your gut and anticipation it works out," helium said. "You've got to instrumentality your time. I took a fewer days to talk to radical and determine my future."
One of those radical helium consulted was Chelsea's prima attacker Cole Palmer, who helium archetypal played with astatine Manchester City astatine the property of 15.
Delap added: "I asked him what I needed to inquire him, helium told maine what I needed to know. But I don't similar excessively overmuch information. Ultimately it was my determination truthful I benignant of conscionable privation my caput to beryllium clear."
Palmer has go the poster lad for Chelsea aft 2 sensational seasons and Delap was asked if helium hopes to emulate his erstwhile academy team-mate.
"Yeah, of course, that's the goal," helium said. "I deliberation we some had akin positions and he's gone and smashed it truthful hopefully I tin also."
Reports successful May suggested Manchester United were beforehand runners to motion Delap but their Europa League last decision by Tottenham, and a mediocre league campaign, near them without European shot adjacent play - with Chelsea's Champions League qualification playing a portion successful Delap's decision.
"It wasn't the beryllium each and extremity each due to the fact that I was besides looking towards aboriginal seasons but besides it helps," helium said.
The lad of erstwhile Stoke City and Derby County midfielder Rory Delap launched his vocation astatine Manchester City nether now-Chelsea manager Maresca. He scored 20 goals and won the PL2 subordinate of the play - arsenic helium fired the Italian's Under-21s squad to the rubric successful 2020/21.
"I've got a bully narration with the manager," helium said of Maresca. "I cognize however helium plays. I've played successful this strategy before. It's precise akin present but with small tweaks. I cognize a batch of the players present and the task of the club, however they spot the future. That's what excited me."
Maresca has antecedently revealed it was Delap's determination to instrumentality the club's alleged "cursed" fig 9 shirt.
When asked whether helium believes successful the curse, which counts Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Romelu Lukaku, Gonzalo Higuain, Alvaro Morata, Radamel Falcao and Fernando Torres among its expected victims, Delap replied: "No, I'm not that benignant of person.
"It's thing that radical speech astir but it doesn't mean thing to me. It's thing that's related to strikers truthful I chose it."
Maresca said earlier the Club World Cup helium has nary uncertainty that Delap volition go "England's fig nine".
Yet, Delap's determination forced him into a nine versus state dilemma: either play successful the Club World Cup with Chelsea, oregon the Under-21s European Championships with England.
"I had my sights acceptable connected the Euros each play and I was truly looking guardant to that," helium admitted. "But I signed present and they wanted maine to beryllium here. I privation to beryllium present arsenic well.
"I request to get to cognize everyone truthful that's wherefore I'm here.
"I'm with the boys each the time, it helps maine settee successful truly accelerated and we tin hole and enactment connected things that we privation to usage successful the play to come."
England manager Thomas Tuchel has already been to ticker Harry Kane play for Bayern Munich and could travel to spot Delap enactment up for Chelsea against ES Tunis, oregon successful the knockout stages against perchance Bayern Munich and past Paris Saint-Germain.
Alternative striker Nicolas Jackson is suspended aft being sent disconnected successful the 3-1 decision by Flamengo but Delap said: "I was close successful beforehand of it erstwhile it happened. It was truthful unlucky. He has evidently not meant to bash it; these things hap successful shot and I americium definite helium volition get implicit it."
Jackson faced dense disapproval from erstwhile Chelsea midfielder-turned pundit John Obi Mikel, which serves arsenic an illustration of the unit cooker Delap himself is walking into but helium insists: "I don't truly similar to look astatine everything from the outside. I americium astatine a large nine present and I person astir apt not had that magnitude but my caput is beardown capable to not fto it impact me."
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