Liam Delap initially hoped to spend four or five years at Chelsea after joining the club in 2025, but injuries and poor form contributed to his departure, according to his father, Rory Delap.

According to a report by The Chelsea Chronicle on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, the former England midfielder revealed that his son had expected to establish himself at Stamford Bridge before circumstances changed.

Speaking on The Managers podcast, Rory explained that Chelsea was supposed to be the next long-term destination for the 23-year-old striker.

"Yeah, he had two seasons on loan, then permanently to Ipswich for a year. Had a good year down there, but unfortunately they got relegated and then gets the move to Chelsea and you know that was the one to really settle down and go and have four or five years there."

However, Delap struggled to maintain consistency during his time in west London, with injuries and a lack of goals affecting his progress.

His father also disclosed that uncertainty surrounded his future during pre-season, particularly after he returned from Chelsea's tour of Australia.

"But, you know, with injury and form he didn’t have a great year unfortunately. Things were up in the air coming into pre-season and then he went away with them on the tour to Australia, came back and then was sort of training on his own. There was a group of four or five of them."

Delap joined Chelsea for around £30 million and initially showed promise, scoring at the FIFA Club World Cup and making an impact in the final against Paris Saint-Germain.

However, he managed only three goals in 47 appearances for the Blues, with just one coming in 28 Premier League matches.

His departure also coincided with changes in Chelsea's attacking options. Joao Pedro established himself as the preferred centre-forward, while Morgan Rogers became an important attacking addition.

Delap has since joined Nottingham Forest, where manager Thomas Frank is backing him to score between 12 and 15 goals this season.