Chelsea are pressing ahead with a move to sign one marquee player after they reached an agreement for the signing of Liam Delap, with Enzo Maresca’s side showing no hesitation in attacking the market after ending 2024/2025 on a major high.
Chelsea begin busy summer window with Liam Delap signing
Cole Palmer’s magical second-half attacking display helped spare Maresca’s blushes in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday evening, with Chelsea coming back from behind to smash Real Betis 4-1 in Poland.
Chelsea submit bid to sign £42m Serie A star who's admitted he could leave
The west Londoners are in good spirits after their Conference League triumph.
1 ByEmilio GalantiniMay 29, 2025
Manuel Pellegrini’s side threatened to end Chelsea’s season on a sour note, but strikes from Enzo Fernández, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo in the final 25 minutes of the 90 sealed Maresca’s first piece of major silverware since taking over from Mauricio Pochettino last summer.
Chelsea’s top five finish and subsequent qualification for the Champions League, coupled with their win at the Stadion Miejski, means Maresca’s debut season in the dugout can be deemed a real success.
Despite their damp patch midway through 2024/2025, Chelsea roared to the finish line and displayed serious intent during the latter stages of this campaign, winning six of their final nine league games and losing just one as performances took a positive turn.
Now, attention fully turns to the transfer market, with Chelsea expected to be very busy yet again this summer.
They’ll also have a mini-transfer window – open from June 1 to June 10 – to sign new recruits ahead of their Club World Cup campaign. With £97 million worth of prize money on offer if they win the tournament, Chelsea are expected to take it seriously, and it is believed they ideally want two or three of their new signings through the door before the CWC kicks off next month (Simon Phillips).
One target they’ve been seriously pursuing in the last fortnight, Ipswich Town star Delap, also had a host of other offers on the table from Man United, Newcastle and Everton – so competition was rife for his signature.
However, reports this week began emerging that Chelsea’s Champions League status put them in pole position for the Englishman, who bagged 12 league goals for Ipswich last season (talkSPORT).
Now, Chelsea are expected to seal an imminent deal for Delap, as confirmed by trusted transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano.
However, Delap’s arrival at Stamford Bridge may not be the end of their striker search. Chelsea could in fact sign two centre-forwards this summer, according to journalist Simon Phillips, and this is now being echoed by Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg.
Chelsea "pushing" to sign Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike
According to Plettenberg, “underrated” Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike remains a top target for BlueCo, regardless of their agreement with Delap.
The 22-year-old is fresh off the back of an incredible full debut season at Eintracht, having signed permanently from PSG last summer. Ekitike scored 22 goals and racked up 12 assists in 48 appearances across 24/25, leaving little wonder the Bundesliga side will demand a high asking price.
Eintracht want as much as £84 million to sell Ekitike this summer, and if Chelsea are serious about him, they’ll need to splash the cash.