Maresca heaps praise on ‘fantastic’ Chelsea target

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has heaped praise on Ipswich Town forward Liam Delap as he prepares to face his former pupil on Monday evening.

Delap has enjoyed a sublime start to life at Ipswich following his permanent move from Manchester City in July, scoring six goals in 16 Premier League games so far this season.

The England U21 international has attracted significant transfer interest as a result of his impressive form this campaign, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United among the clubs keeping a close eye on his development at Portman Road.

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Chelsea have been strongly linked with a move for Delap in 2025, amid Christopher Nkunku’s uncertain future at Stamford Bridge, and Maresca has now heaped praise on the 21-year-old ahead of the Blues’ trip to face Ipswich.

The Italian coached Delap during his time at Man City, and it has been widely reported that he would like to be reunited with the forward next year.

“Liam is a fantastic player,” Maresca told reporters. “Also for his age, we spent one year together. I think in that season, he scored 22 or 24 goals.

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“This is a very good striker – as I’ve said many times, England are quite lucky because they have very good players, very good strikers.

“He is working hard off the ball, on the ball he understands the game and he can score goals. Because of his age, I think he can be an important player for England.”

What else has Enzo Maresca said?

Maresca spent time with Delap during his spell in charge of Man City’s U23 side and the Italian has been a huge admirer of the Englishman for several years.

Following Delap’s senior Man City debut against Bournemouth in 2020, a game in which he scored, Maresca told the club’s website: “I was very happy for Liam, for one of our players to be in the first team.

“Hopefully in this moment he can help the first team and score. He’s just 17 – he needs time to grow and to improve but right now he is doing the right things.

“Physically, he is already ready to compete against professional teams, but he needs time to work to grow and to improve himself. Absolutely he is a very exciting prospect.”