Liam Delap has spoken about his hopes of reviving his career at Nottingham Forest after a difficult 16-month spell at Chelsea, where he made one goal in 28 top-flight appearances following a big-money move. The £45m club-record signing, who could make his full Forest debut against Tottenham on Saturday, reflected on setbacks as a natural part of a footballer's development, drawing parallels with his early loan spells at Stoke and Preston that preceded a breakthrough season at Hull.

Delap, 23, was heavily courted last summer, reportedly receiving interest from 18 Premier League clubs after scoring 12 goals for a relegated Ipswich side, and held talks with Oliver Glasner, now his manager at Forest, when Glasner was still at Crystal Palace. Glasner said he wants to build his side around Delap's physical strengths rather than remould his style, praising the player's self-awareness after a tough year. Delap, capped by England at every age group and a former under-16s teammate of Jude Bellingham, remains focused on improving rather than dwelling on comparisons to Harry Kane as a potential future England striker.