Everton need several new additions this summer, but there is one target the club must avoid after his club placed a new £40 million valuation.
After a dismal end to last season, Evertonians want to see a productive summer.
A 13th-placed finish was ultimately very disappointing, and Everton simply have to get it right in the next window if they are to push up the table. Failure to do so could see the club slide further down.
If you were Angus Kinnear who would you be going all out for this summer? 💰
A number of positions are on the agenda for strengthening.
Everton are in the market for a new striker this summer after more criticism was levelled at Beto in 2025/26, as well as Thierno Barry.
And one striker Everton have looked at for some time is Liam Delap – but the Toffees simply should not be tempted.
Everton must avoid Liam Delap as Chelsea seek profit
Everton’s interest in Liam Delap has been pushed again, with Chelsea looking to move him on after just one season.
Delap joined Chelsea last summer after Ipswich Town’s relegation, but failed to live up to expectations and scored just one Premier League goal.
The Daily Mail have now reported that Chelsea will sell this summer, but want to bring in at least £40 million for the Englishman.
And with that, Everton should abandon their pursuit of the player, because that is silly money.
Chelsea are within their rights to demand that fee, of course. He’s under contract until 2031 and they don’t obviously have to sell, although they probably should really
But history tells us that Chelsea are good sellers and tend to fetch higher prices for their players even if they haven’t necessarily performed.
So they could well get someone to pay £40 million for Delap – but Everton must ensure it isn’t them. Because Beto and Barry have not been bad enough to warrant that kind of outlay on a potentially worse player.
Unfortunately, while Delap did do well at Ipswich, it’s tricky to discount the season he just had at Chelsea.
Scoring just two goals across 41 appearances in all competitions is disappointing.
He did have injuries, but then that’s probably another reason Everton should be steering clear.
There is to be some sympathy for Delap though, as he moved to Chelsea thinking he was going to be the number one striker. But shortly after joining, they brought Joao Pedro in – and the Brazilian had a great season and kept Delap out of the side a lot of the time.
Everton need a transfer budget of at least _________ this summer
Fill in the blank…
Delap just hasn’t scored enough goals in recent times to justify Everton paying over £40 million.
Really, he should be selling for less than his £30 million fee. But Chelsea can obviously demand whatever they feel is reasonable.
Perhaps someone like Taty Castellanos would be more worth it for Everton. He scored seven goals for West Ham United in just half a season, and he’d be considerably cheaper than Delap.
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