Where next for Chelsea’s Delap and can he bounce back?

Chelsea are prepared to let striker Liam Delap leave the club, just 14 months after signing him from Ipswich Town for £30m, after he scored only once in the Premier League last season. The 23-year-old, who had beaten off competition from Manchester United, Newcastle and Everton to join, has been deemed surplus to requirements under new manager Xabi Alonso, though interest from other clubs has so far been limited due to Chelsea's £50m valuation.

Delap has lost his number nine shirt to Joao Pedro and now trains separately from the first team in a group of around 12 fringe players, including Nicolas Jackson and Tosin Adarabioyo, alongside new arrivals Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck. His difficult season was compounded by playing under three different managers, hamstring and shoulder injuries, and Chelsea's troubled 10th-placed finish; Nottingham Forest have shown interest, though Leeds have since cooled theirs, while Chelsea insist the new training arrangement differs from last season's criticised "bomb squad" approach.