Nottingham Forest's record signing Liam Delap is embracing the challenge of rebuilding his reputation after a difficult spell at Chelsea, with the striker set to make his full debut against Tottenham this weekend following his substitute appearance at Anfield last time out.
The 23-year-old, who joined Forest for £45m, endured a tough campaign at Stamford Bridge, managing just one goal in 28 Premier League appearances after leaving Ipswich, where he had scored 12 goals before their relegation last season. Speaking in Forest's boardroom, Delap reflected candidly on the setbacks that have shaped his career so far.
"It is never a linear path straight to the top," Delap said. "I just want to get my head down, focus and keep improving because I'm still so young and I have so much to learn." He pointed to his early loan spells at Stoke and Preston during the 2022-23 season, which he initially viewed as failures but now credits with sparking his development before a productive stint at Hull. "I think you just have to accept that sometimes things go bad, things happen... it might prove to be a good thing," he added, insisting he remains focused on learning from setbacks rather than dwelling on them.
Delap's competitive nature, he explained, traces back to childhood battles with his younger brother Finn, now playing for League One side Burton Albion. "There were probably a lot of tears, a lot of fights... whether it was playing Monopoly or football, it always ended in either the table being flipped or kicking the shit out of each other," he recalled with a smile, adding that the siblings are now each other's biggest supporters.
That fierce edge is something head coach Oliver Glasner wants to preserve rather than curb. The Austrian revealed that Delap had 18 Premier League suitors last summer and joked that the striker now knows every top-flight manager after a summer of video calls, including one with Glasner during his time at Crystal Palace. Delap admitted the conversation left a lasting impression: "I remember the conversation we had, I was really impressed and I thought: 'This guy is really good.' He spoke incredibly well and you can see he has done really well with the strikers he has had in the past."
Glasner has been clear that he wants Delap to play to his physical strengths rather than reshape his game. "I think it shows his attitude and his character that he said: 'Yeah, I want a team and a club that values my strengths and wants to play to my strengths,'" the Forest boss said. "Because I never want to change a player: it doesn't make sense to say: 'OK, now you should play like Messi.'"
Delap's debut cameo against Liverpool included a quick throw-in that set up Morgan Gibbs-White's equalising penalty in a 2-2 draw. Glasner later learned that Delap's father, Rory, a former Southampton and Stoke player, was known for his long throws — though the son insists that particular gene skipped him. "No, I don't think so," Delap said when asked if he had a similarly powerful throw. "I would never, anyway: I'm a striker, I need to be in the box."
A product of Derby County's academy before moving to Manchester City, Delap made his senior debut under Pep Guardiola at 17 and later helped City's youth side beat Chelsea in the 2020 FA Youth Cup final, lining up alongside current Premier League players including Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and close friend James McAtee, now his Forest teammate.
Delap, capped by England at every age level and once tipped as a long-term successor to Harry Kane, says he is channelling his combative instincts productively. "I'm always going to fight for everything, always be aggressive, determined," he said. "I think I play at my best when I'm on that edge of being... being horrible."
Based on reporting from The Guardian.