Nottingham Forest close in on signing Liam Delap from Chelsea
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Nottingham Forest have moved closer to signing Chelsea striker Liam Delap, who fell out of favour under Xabi Alonso and was left out of the squad for Monday's game at Fulham. Head coach Oliver Glasner confirmed talks were progressing and that the club was targeting one further signing besides Delap, most likely a wing-back to suit his three-man defensive system, before the transfer window closed a week on Tuesday.
Delap, 23, had been on Forest's radar before joining Chelsea from Ipswich and had been training away from the first team at Stamford Bridge. Forest had already brought in Ousmane Diomande for £34m from Sporting Lisbon, plus free signings Xaver Schlager and Steven Benda. They hosted Leeds in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, a rematch of their league defeat the previous Saturday, without the injured Morgan Gibbs-White. Elsewhere, Aston Villa were pushing for Club Brugge's Joel Ordóñez after having a bid for Southampton's Taylor Harwood-Bellis rejected, Coventry were finalising a move for Brentford's Ethan Pinnock, and Sunderland signed midfielder Jules Ahoka from Royal Antwerp for a reported £8m.
- Forest closed in on signing Chelsea's out-of-favour striker Liam Delap
- Glasner sought one more signing, likely a wing-back, before deadline
- Villa, Coventry and Sunderland also pursued separate transfer targets
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Nottingham Forest are trying to sign Chelsea striker Liam Delap before the transfer window shuts. Delap, 23, joined Chelsea last year but has struggled to hold down a regular place under head coach Xabi Alonso, leaving him open to a move elsewhere. Forest, managed by Oliver Glasner, have been active in the market this summer and are also looking to bring in a defender to suit Glasner's preferred system.
The transfer deadline for English clubs falls on Tuesday, which is why activity across the Premier League and beyond has picked up, with clubs racing to complete deals before the window closes for several months. Other clubs mentioned alongside Forest, such as Aston Villa, Coventry and Sunderland, are separately working on their own late-window signings, giving a sense of the wider scramble happening at the same time.
Deadline-day deals often move quickly and can change direction at short notice, so reported "advanced talks" do not guarantee a transfer will be completed before the window shuts.