Chelsea hope to achieve Cole Palmer level of success with Delap signing

Chelsea fans have a new striker to marvel over ahead of the Club World Cup.

The Blues beat off competition from Premier League rivals to sign English striker Liam Delap from Ipswich on Wednesday for a reported fee of £30 million (Approximately Sh5.24 billion).

Delap, 22, scored 12 Premier League goals during his sole season at Portman Road but could not prevent Ipswich making an immediate return to the Championship.

Manchester United and Everton were also reportedly willing to meet the buyout clause in the England under-21 international's contract.

Chelsea, though, have won the race for the former Manchester City forward, in a similar manner to how they snared Cole Palmer, also an ex City player, bolstering their attacking options ahead of the Club World Cup in the United States, starting later this month.

"I understand the stature of this club and can see the trajectory it is on with these players and the head coach," said Delap, who has signed a six-year contract, in a Chelsea statement.

"It’s going to be an incredible place for me to develop, and I hope to achieve amazing things here and help the club win more trophies."

The Blues finished fourth in the Premier League and will return to the Champions League next season after a two-year absence.

This signing will come as serious competition to Nicholas Jackson who has been the main man at Stamford Bridge.

Senegal international Nicolas Jackson scored just 10 times in 30 Premier League appearances, while Christopher Nkunku looks set to leave the club after an underwhelming two-year spell.

Delap, the son of former Stoke midfielder Rory Delap, began his career at Manchester City but struggled to break into Pep Guardiola's star-studded first team.

Chelsea will face Flamengo, LAFC and ES Tunis in the group stages of the Club World Cup, which gets underway on 14 June.