Former Chelsea midfielder Andy Townsend reckons Xabi Alonso should look to move on Liam Delap in the summer transfer window.
The Blues are ready to welcome Alonso into the fold on July 1, when he officially joins as head coach, but plans are already underway to help improve the Spaniard’s squad ahead of next season.
Chelsea missed out on qualification for Europe ahead of next season as the Blues finished tenth in the Premier League after a turbulent year at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues really need to improve at both ends of the pitch in the summer with Townsend recommending that Chelsea move on Delap.
The Manchester City academy graduate signed for Chelsea from Ipswich Town last summer for £30m – but Delap has only scored three goals in 47 appearances in all competitions this season.
Townsend told OLBG (via the Metro): “Liam Delap’s next club? Everton are desperate for a striker. They’ve got Beto and Tierno Barry, and neither of them are good enough, so Everton definitely need one.
READ: Surprise picks among every Prem club’s official Player of the Season
“Liam at Chelsea, when compared to Ipswich, he’s always looked a little inhibited. Is it the way the team plays, or is it just being a higher-profile player now at a bigger club?
“Whenever he’s come on as a sub, he’s rarely had an impact. I’ve very rarely seen anything where I’ve thought, “Wow, now I can see what Chelsea have invested in.” I just haven’t seen anything from him yet, to be honest.
“But that happens, he’s not the first striker to go to a club where it doesn’t work out. For whatever reason, sometimes you can’t always put your finger on it. Certain players go to certain clubs, and it just doesn’t happen.
Delap needs to be the ‘main man’ – Townsend
“Fernando Torres, moving from Liverpool to Chelsea, was a world apart. So, for Liam Delap, I think a move to somewhere where he’s going to be the main man, regular, and consistent is necessary, but he’s got to find a little bit more to his game.
READ: Liverpool: Why Chelsea didn’t appoint Iraola as Anfield ‘landscape shifted’ for four reasons
“He’s looked like a Championship player trying to cut it at a top Premier League team and he’s looked awkward and it hasn’t just looked like it’s the right sort of fit.
“So I think he’s got to believe in himself a bit more. I’d like to think in the summer he will keep himself in really good nick in case something happens.
“But if I was him, I would be pushing to get away from Chelsea because if he’s not gonna play, you know, you can only sit on a bench for so long before too much of your game starts to disappear.
“So he needs to get playing now this year. And Everton are desperate for a striker. And if he goes in there and starts bashing in a few goals and starts looking like he’s aggressive they’ll love him there for that.
“I think that’s the Liam Delap that we all expected to see, but there’s been no signs of that at all at Chelsea.”
READ NEXT: Alvarez, Osimhen, Kroupi: Arsenal, Chelsea targets in ranking of top 10 available strikers