Nottingham Forest Sign Liam Delap for £45 Million from Chelsea
Nottingham Forest have made their statement signing of the summer, completing a £45 million deal for Liam Delap that could rise to £50m with add-ons.
The 23-year-old striker has signed a long-term contract at the City Ground running until 2031, leaving Chelsea after just a single season in West London. The move delivers Chelsea an instant profit of around £20m, having brought him in from Ipswich Town for roughly £30m in June 2025.
For Forest, it is a bold swing. For Delap, it is a reset.
Delap throws himself into the challenge
Delap arrives talking like a player desperate to make this work.
"I really can't wait to get started, this is a massive club with a big history," he told club media after the deal was announced. He revealed that a conversation with head coach Oliver Glasner played a key role in convincing him to make the switch.
"I spoke to the manager and I like his way, I think he can be the one to really help me develop and make that next step and hopefully I can bring goals here," Delap said.
The City Ground atmosphere has already been sold to him. Now he wants to feel it from the inside.
"I can't wait to hear the noise at the City Ground and have the fans on my side because I know how loud and important they are. As a team we can build something really strong and the main aim is to challenge and be a top club in the Premier League."
Those are ambitious words. The price tag demands them.
A striker with scars – and serious upside
On paper, Forest have paid elite money for a forward who scored just once in the league last season. That headline will follow him until he changes it.
Yet Delap’s reputation as a dangerous Premier League frontman has not vanished. Far from it.
He first burst onto the scene at Ipswich Town in the 2024-25 campaign, hitting 12 league goals in a struggling side that ultimately went down. Even in a relegated team, he stood out. His blend of pace, power and direct running made him a constant menace.
One stat underlines it: Delap recorded 26 shot-ending carries that season – the highest figure of any striker in the Premier League. Give him space to drive into, and he turns it into chances.
Forest are betting that version of Delap is the real one, not the frustrated figure who toiled at Chelsea.
Glasner’s attacking puzzle
Life at the City Ground will not come with guarantees. Delap walks straight into a scrap for the No 9 role.
Chris Wood, Igor Jesus and Arnaud Kalimuendo are already jostling for that central striking spot. Each offers something different; none will step aside quietly for the new arrival.
That competition is exactly what Glasner wants. For Delap, it means he has to impose himself quickly.
He may not have to wait long for his first chance. The forward could make his debut this weekend, with Forest heading to Anfield to face Liverpool. It is a brutal stage on which to introduce yourself, but also the kind of platform that can flip a narrative in 90 minutes.
Forest travel on the back of consecutive defeats to Leeds United – once in the Premier League opener and again in the Carabao Cup. The mood needs lifting. The attack needs a focal point.
Delap has been bought to be that presence: physical, ruthless, relentless. Now he has to show that the fee, the faith and the long contract are not a gamble, but the start of Forest’s next big centre-forward era.
