Liam Delap appears to have won Chelsea fans over before even making his debut for the club, with a clip of his performance during shooting practice going viral on social media.
The Blues officially announced Delap’s arrival last week after seeing off strong competition from Manchester United to sign the sought-after 22-year-old striker from Ipswich.
A host of high-profile centre-forwards were linked with moves to Stamford Bridge before Chelsea honed in on a £30million deal for the young Englishman.
Delap, a product of Manchester City’s academy system, has put pen to paper on a six-year contract in west London, tying him to the Europa Conference League winners until 2031.
Clearly eager to make an immediate impression, Delap has made the decision to play for Chelsea at the Club World Cup, meaning he could not be selected in England’s squad for this summer’s European Under-21 Championship.
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Delap will no doubt be desperate to feature for Chelsea in the side’s opening match of the tournament against Los Angeles FC at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday.
In the build-up to the contest, Chelsea’s social media pages shared footage of Pedro Neto, Moises Caicedo and Delap being put through their paces during a shooting exercise at Philadelphia Union’s team facility in Pennsylvania.
Robert Sanchez could not even get close to Delap’s emphatic strikes at goal, leaving fans drooling over their new signing and what he could bring to Enzo Maresca’s attack.
‘Delap will cook… mark my words,’ one fan replied on Instagram.
Another Chelsea supporter responded: ‘I’ve never seen [Nicolas] Jackson doing this.’
‘Nice, I think we got new good number nine… that was beautiful placement where he shoot the ball, the calmness,’ another impressed fan said.
‘Delap back-to-back top bins I’ve seen enough,’ wrote a particularly impressed supporter.
‘I have a massive smile on my face that Liam Delap is actually a Chelsea player, still can’t believe it. We are so back man,’ another wrote.
After signing for Chelsea, Delap outlined his ‘hunger and desire’ to lift major trophies to help steer the club back to their former glory.
‘Growing up watching this club, I understand the stature of it and how incredible it has been over the years,’ he told Chelsea’s official website.
‘I wanted to come here to win trophies. When I spoke to the club, everyone wanted to get back to the very top, and they have the quality and the players to do that.
‘The hunger and desire to keep adding trophies, to take the club back to where it belongs, that is the main objective.’
He added: ‘The most important thing for me last summer was going somewhere where I could play a lot of minutes.
‘That was the opportunity I felt I needed, to go and express myself and show the player I am.
‘Ipswich gave me that opportunity, which was so important, and I’m very grateful for that.’
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