been reported to be of great interest to the Blues, with talk throughout January linking them with a mid-season move.

However, his current club, Ipswich Town, made it clear they were desperate to keep hold of him as they look to secure their status in the Premier League.

There were reports that stated that Ipswich had asked about the availability of Carney Chukwuemeka in negotiations between the two clubs, however he completed a move to Borussia Dortmund on loan.

With Chelsea one of a host of sides interested in the English striker, it may well come down to the player’s preference of his next club.

Journalist Ben Jacobs has claimed that Delap is very intrigued by the prospect of a move to Stamford Bridge, with the opportunity to become the starting number nine clear to see.

He said to GiveMeSport’s Market Madness: “Chelsea are the frontrunners for Liam Delap, that’s the short answer. It’s going to be interesting, because naturally Ipswich could stay up and make a play to keep him, but the expectation is he will depart regardless.

“Chelsea have got a number of people, including Enzo Maresca that know Liam Delap, some of them have worked with him as well at Man City.

“Delap is quite intrigued by the Chelsea project, especially knowing that if he’s the number nine that comes in, he stands a very good chance of displacing or at least competing with Nicolas Jackson, who we must stress Chelsea do have big faith in.”

Liam Delap vs Nicolas Jackson stats

Despite it being his first season in the Premier League, Delap has taken to life in the top flight with ease.

In fact, the former Manchester City man is on the same amount of Premier League goals as Nicolas Jackson so far this season.

It is well known that Chelsea need to finally address the striker position after a number of transfer windows without signing competition for their current crop.

Jackson is going through somewhat of a dry spell at the moment, and the Blues are suffering in front of goal as a result of it.