Everton's Long-Standing Interest in Liam Delap

Liam Delap’s name just won’t leave Everton alone.

It has lingered around Goodison Park for years, the sort of long-running link that survives managers, squads and transfer windows. David Moyes has never hidden his admiration for the striker, and Everton’s interest first sharpened when Ipswich went down two seasons ago. They wanted him then. They still want him now.

Now the situation has shifted again. Xabi Alonso is in at Chelsea and, already, there are hints he could reopen the exit door for Delap.

Everton head into the new Premier League campaign with Thierno Barry and Beto as their central options. There were flashes from both last season, moments that hinted at something more. But when the pressure cranked up, neither produced often enough. Goals dried up, confidence wobbled, and the need for another forward never really went away.

Delap’s future back in play

This is where Delap comes back into focus. Everywhere you look, the signs point towards some kind of change.

According to The Chronicle’s print edition, Como have stepped back from a move. Their interest is not expected to progress because Delap wants to stay in the Premier League. That stance has put Everton on alert as the deadline looms.

Chelsea, though, are not in the mood to hand out bargains. Stamford Bridge chiefs still want a hefty profit, with any permanent deal understood to cost up to £40 million. For a player with just one Premier League goal to his name, that is a figure that jars in the current market. It explains why talk of Everton – or even Newcastle – stumping up that kind of fee feels so remote.

But transfer windows have a habit of twisting late on. As 1 September creeps closer, the dynamic can change.

If Chelsea decide Delap has no place in Alonso’s plans, a different route could open. It is suggested Everton might be able to strike a loan agreement, potentially with an option or even an obligation to buy built in. That sort of structure would suit the Toffees far more than an all-in, £40m gamble.

Fit, flaws and a familiar profile

On paper, adding Delap to Barry and Beto would give Everton depth they simply did not have last season. Neither of the current strikers has been actively pushed towards the exit, and both look likely to stay put for now. Bringing in another body up front, especially one with Premier League potential, would ease the burden.

There is a catch. All three share a similar profile. They are powerful, physically imposing forwards rather than burners who constantly dart in behind defences. It raises a tactical question: can Everton really carry three strikers cut from the same cloth, or does Delap’s long-running link finally turn into something more concrete?

With the Premier League season just three days away, Everton’s pursuit of Delap is no longer just a background rumble. It’s a live storyline, and the clock is ticking.