Xabi Alonso made his point without a press conference. The Chelsea manager left Liam Delap out of the matchday squad entirely for the 3-1 pre-season win over Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, the first time this summer the 23-year-old striker had been given no involvement at all.
The move followed a quiet standoff. Delap had just told Chelsea he did not want a loan switch to Serie A side Como, according to reports. Como manager Cesc Fàbregas was offering Champions League football and a fresh start after a first year at Stamford Bridge in which Delap started only once in the Premier League. He wants to stay in England.
A £40m price tag Chelsea will not shift
Chelsea’s stance is firm. The club values Delap at around €47m (£40m) and prefers a permanent sale to any loan arrangement, according to reports in Italy via Football Italia. That figure sits above what Como can comfortably spend after already committing €60m for Nico Paz and €30m for Trevoh Chalobah earlier in the window.
The number matters for another reason. Chelsea only paid £30m for Delap when they signed him from Ipswich Town in 2025. A £40m sale would let them book an accounting profit on a striker who has yet to come close to his ceiling in west London.
Read also: Only eight men have ever done it: Pogačar chases the Grand Tour career Grand Slam at the Vuelta
Newcastle and Everton have not made an offer
The Premier League interest Delap is banking on is real but soft. Newcastle United and Everton have both been monitoring his situation, though neither has made a formal offer. Neither club has moved to match the €47m Chelsea want, and time is short: the summer transfer window shuts on 1 September.
His pecking order at Stamford Bridge under Alonso is the other pressure point. João Pedro is the first-choice striker, and summer signing Emmanuel Emegha, brought in from Strasbourg through the BlueCo network, is next in line. Delap is at least third.
Delap is one of nine Chelsea outcasts
He is not alone in the departure lounge. Alonso’s Real Sociedad squad omitted nine players with a combined estimated value of around €204m, including Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk, Mamadou Sarr, Tosin Adarabioyo and Axel Disasi. Chelsea have spent roughly €408m on 12 new signings this summer, headlined by Morgan Rogers’s British-record £117m arrival from Aston Villa, and the club need to move outgoings before deadline day to bring the wage bill down.
Alonso, appointed as Chelsea’s manager in May on a four-year deal and in charge since 1 July, has the next two weeks to make him choose.
Read also: McGregor's next fight could be bare-knuckle: what happens when his UFC contract expires
Read also: Duplantis stopped at 6.15m in Birmingham. His summer explains why he never went higher
