Nottingham Forest smash club record for Liam Delap as Chelsea shuffle strikers
Nottingham Forest have agreed a deal worth up to £50m to sign Liam Delap from Chelsea — a £45m fee plus £5m in add-ons that makes him the most expensive signing in the club's history (The Guardian).
The move comes after a difficult year for Delap at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea paid Ipswich £30m for the 23-year-old in summer 2025, but he managed just one league goal all season as injuries restricted him. A former Manchester City youth striker, Delap had been made available for sale by Chelsea and was training away from the first-team squad after a £50m asking price was set (BBC Sport).
Forest manager Oliver Glasner had identified Delap as a priority target. The Austrian, who guided Forest through a strong campaign, pushed hard to get the deal over the line before the transfer window shuts this Tuesday. Earlier reporting from Sky Sports had suggested Forest looked unlikely to meet Chelsea's valuation, with a loan-plus-purchase option floated as a possible compromise (Yahoo Sports). Forest instead went for the permanent buy.
While Delap heads to the East Midlands, Chelsea are simultaneously working to move Nicolas Jackson on to Aston Villa. Talks over a sale are open, with Villa emerging as frontrunners ahead of Atletico Madrid (The Telegraph). Chelsea value the Senegal international at around £65m — close to the €80m (£67m) region Villa are believed to be preparing (Yahoo Sports).
Jackson, 25, spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich after Chelsea decided they could let him go having bought both Delap and Joao Pedro. That departure was briefly blocked when Delap picked up a hamstring injury, but Jackson eventually got his move to Bavaria. In total, he scored 24 goals in 65 Premier League appearances across two spells at Chelsea, having joined from Villarreal for about £32m in 2023.
The Villa interest is no accident. Manager Unai Emery worked with Jackson at Villarreal and knows the player's game well. Villa are also bracing for the possible departure of Ollie Watkins, who is expected to join Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League. Jackson would step into that vacancy. Chelsea, for their part, will not entertain another loan — they want the £65m valuation met.
Elsewhere in the window, West Ham are in talks with Brentford over a £35m deal for left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf. The 20-year-old, signed from Slavia Prague for £19m in 2025, wants to leave and was left out of the squad for the 2-1 home defeat by Charlton. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo is under growing pressure after a flat start to the season.
West Ham have already raised funds through the sales of Mateus Fernandes, Crysencio Summerville and Freddie Potts, and loaned Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Aston Villa and Niclas Fullkrug to Werder Bremen. Midfielder Edson Alvarez, yet to feature this season, is attracting interest from Olympiakos and Real Sociedad.
For Forest, the Delap signing is a statement of intent — a club-record fee for a striker who has struggled recently but who Glasner clearly believes can rediscover the form that made him one of the most sought-after young forwards in the country. For Chelsea, it is the latest chapter in a remarkable churn of attacking talent, with Jackson potentially following Delap out of the door and recouping a combined £115m for two players who never quite settled.
