Liam Delap had initially planned to spend several years at Chelsea after joining the club in 2025, but a combination of injuries and disappointing performances eventually disrupted his plans, according to his father, Rory Delap.

According to a report by The Chelsea Chronicle on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, the former England midfielder revealed that his son viewed Stamford Bridge as the ideal place to establish himself for the long term after completing his move from Ipswich Town.

Speaking on The Managers podcast, Rory explained that Chelsea was expected to be the next major chapter in the 23-year-old striker’s career.

“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’s hopes of enjoying a lengthy spell in west London were affected by fitness problems and difficulties finding consistent goalscoring form.

His father also revealed that questions about his future had emerged during pre-season, particularly after the striker 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 arrived at Chelsea in a deal worth approximately £30 million and initially gave supporters reasons to be optimistic after scoring at the FIFA Club World Cup and making an impression in the final against Paris Saint-Germain.

Nevertheless, his overall contribution fell below expectations, as he managed just three goals in 47 appearances for the Blues. Only one of those strikes came in 28 Premier League outings.

His exit also followed changes within Chelsea’s attacking department, with Joao Pedro becoming the preferred option at centre-forward and Morgan Rogers emerging as another important attacking addition.

The England striker has since moved to Nottingham Forest, where manager Thomas Frank is reportedly expecting him to deliver between 12 and 15 goals this season.

Rory’s comments offer an insight into how Delap’s original ambition of building a long-term career at Chelsea eventually gave way to a fresh start elsewhere.