“I’m not so sure” – Emmanuel Petit shares one major concern about new £30m Chelsea man

Emmanuel Petit believes new Chelsea signing Liam Delap has a bright future but isn’t sure if he’s the man to score 25 goals a season.

It was reported on Thursday Chelsea had reached an agreement with Ipswich for the 22-year-old who will cost £30m, beating off interest from Manchester United, Newcastle and Everton.

Chelsea have booked a medical for Delap and if all goes to plan he should be officially announced in the coming days.

Petit shares major Liam Delap concern

A striker is the main priority this summer and Chelsea will no doubt be delighted to have beaten their competition to Delap’s signature.

Delap impressed in his debut Premier League campaign scoring 12 league goals and Maresca is a fan of the England under-21 international who he worked with at the Manchester City academy.

He will provide competition and an alternative to Nicolas Jackson which is vital and is a profile of striker the Blues really lacked.

However, despite admitting he thinks Delap has a bright future Petit isn’t sure he can be a 25 goals a season man like Chelsea need.

“He has a really bright future and I have respect for him, but going from Ipswich to Chelsea is huge in terms of expectation and pressure, that number nine position at Chelsea has been a curse for so many players,” he said as cited on X.com.

“Chelsea need a striker who is going to score 25 goals a season, will Delap give you that? I’m not so sure.”

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Delap might not be the only striker arriving at Stamford Bridge this summer with Chelsea still believed to be pushing for Hugo Ekitike.

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Frankfurt are said to want €100m for the 22-year-old who scored 22 goals in all competitions this season, but it remains to be seen if Chelsea would consider paying that much.

Strasbourg’s Emanuel Emegha is reportedly another target with the Dutch under-21 international scoring 14 Ligue 1 goals this season, and Fabrizio Romano believes Chelsea could strike a pre-agreement this summer for 2026.