Chelsea have reportedly asked Liam Delap to prioritise his new club over England’s under-21s this summer.
It was widely reported on Thursday that Chelsea had won the competitive race to sign Delap. After rejecting offers from at least four other Premier League teams, including Manchester United, the 22-year-old striker is poised to join the west London outfit.
Having triggered the £30 million ($40.4 million) release clause in Delap’s Ipswich Twon contract, the Blues have scheduled his medical for Monday ahead of an official announcement, according to .
From that point on, Delap will be a Chelsea player, but his next competitive outing is set to be at this summer’s Under-21 European Championships in Slovakia. England begin their group-stage campaign against the Czech Republic on June 12 and could feasibly still be involved in the competition until the final which is scheduled for June 28.
This creates a conflict for Chelsea. The Blues are poised to compete in this summer’s newly expanded Club World Cup, which will kick off for Enzo Maresca’s side on June 16 against one of LAFC or Club América.
claim that Chelsea have “asked” Delap to neglect his international obligations to appear in this club tournament.
The bustling centre-forward has been a key figure for Lee Carsley’s young lions, appearing in all but one of England U21’s eight fixtures this season. It remains to be seen what decision Delap will make, but he isn’t the only selection headache for Maresca to deal with this summer.
Ahead of two fixtures in June, England’s senior manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that he won‘t release any international early. “I could see the reason for the players who go to the Club World Cup to maybe leave a little earlier, to maybe change the squad,” the German shrugged when announcing his 26-player setup. “I can understand the argument from especially the clubs who would love to see the players get a rest but we have a strong argument for ourselves and our goals we want to reach.”
“Why send players if we want to cherish every day we have together. What signal would it send to the group to send players away?” Tuchel argued.
Chelsea could be without five of their senior English stars—Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah and Reece James—for their opening Club World Cup game.
Maresca is stunned that these international fixtures have even been scheduled for June. “It is not normal, it is not correct,” the Chelsea boss fumed. “I know people say they have money but it is not about money, it is about the health of the players. I don't think people pay attention to that.”
