Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has praised Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap ahead of Monday’s reunion.
Delap is a player he previously worked with in Manchester City’s academy and the Blues boss has predicted the 21-year-old could become “an important player for England”.
Delap has been a standout performer for Ipswich this season, scoring six goals in his first full Premier League campaign.
The young striker, the son of former Premier League star Rory Delap, joined Ipswich in a deal worth up to £20million in the summer after leaving Manchester City’s academy.
Speaking about his time as Delap’s coach, Maresca said: “Liam is a fantastic player, even for his age. I think we spent a year together and he scored (around) 22-24 goals. He is a very good striker.
“England have a lot of good players, a lot of good strikers (but) he works hard on and off the ball, understands the game and can score goals. “I think he can be an important player for England.”
🚨👀 Enzo Maresca: “Liam Delap is a fantastic player.”
“We spent a year together, he scored 24 goals… that’s a very good goal.”
“He works hard on and off the ball, he understands the game and can score goals. “He can be an important player for England.” pic.twitter.com/ILXHuXr7qt
– Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 27, 2024
During his time with City’s under-21 team, Delap was prolific, scoring an incredible 35 goals in just 36 appearances.
He also gained valuable experience with loan spells at Stoke City, Preston North End and Hull City in the Championship before making a permanent move to Ipswich to secure regular first-team football.
Although Delap has yet to make his England national team debut, he has represented the country at various youth levels, including ten appearances for the under-21 team, where he scored two goals.
Ipswich continue to struggle for survival, sitting 19th in the Premier League and three points from safety, but Delap will be hoping to outdo his former manager when he is welcomed to Portman Road.
