Liam Delap's Potential Move to Everton: A Striker's Dilemma

Liam Delap just will not leave Everton alone.

His name has hovered over Goodison Park for years, a recurring subplot every time the club goes hunting for a striker. David Moyes has never hidden his admiration for the forward, and Everton’s interest first sharpened when Ipswich were relegated two seasons ago. It never really cooled.

Now Delap is at Chelsea, and Xabi Alonso may be about to crack the door open again.

Everton’s striker puzzle

Everton are preparing for another Premier League campaign with Thierno Barry and Beto as their main centre-forward options. There were flashes from both. A few promising runs, the odd big performance. But when the pressure really bit last season, neither produced with the regularity a club in Everton’s position desperately needs.

So the old name comes back around.

According to The Chronicle’s print edition, Delap looks increasingly likely to move before the window shuts. Como have shown interest, but that trail is now expected to go cold, with the striker understood to favour staying in the Premier League. That stance has put Everton on alert again as the deadline looms.

Chelsea, though, are not in the mood for charity. Stamford Bridge chiefs still want a hefty profit on the 21-year-old, and any permanent deal is currently thought to be priced at up to £40 million.

For a player with just one Premier League goal to his name, that is a huge call for any club. In this market, it is hard to dress that up as value.

Loan route could keep deal alive

So the situation drifts towards the deadline. As September 1 creeps closer, the dynamics may shift. If Chelsea decide Delap has no place in Alonso’s plans, the structure of a deal could change.

One possibility being talked about is a loan move, potentially with an option or even an obligation to buy. That sort of arrangement would suit Everton far more than a straight £40 million outlay.

It would also allow the club to add depth without having to immediately commit to a fee that would smash their current transfer logic.

Barry and Beto, for now, look likely to stay. There has been interest in both, but they have not been aggressively pushed onto the market. Bringing in Delap on top of that pair would give Sean Dyche three sizeable, physical forwards to work with.

And that is the tactical snag.

All three are more powerful than they are quick in behind. They want contact, crosses, battles with centre-backs, not long chases into open grass. For a squad already short of variety in the final third, another similar profile would raise questions about balance, even if it strengthens numbers.

Still, the draw of Delap at Everton endures. The price is a problem. The profile is a puzzle. But with the season kicking off in three days and the window ticking down, this is exactly the sort of late, complicated deal that can suddenly catch fire.