Liam Delap given brutally honest Chelsea transfer verdict as Xabi Alonso prepares striker exodus

Liam Delap faces an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge as Xabi Alonso prepares for his arrival at Chelsea. The 23-year-old, signed from Ipswich Town for 30 million last year, will have significant competition for playing time under the new manager.

Delap featured 41 times across all competitions for Chelsea last term, scoring two goals and providing four assists. The former England Under-21 international struggled to force himself into the starting lineup. His season was marred by injury problems early on. A hamstring issue derailed the momentum he had built in the summer, sidelining him until the end of October. Upon his return to action, Delap received a red card. Though Enzo Maresca gave him a second chance, he suffered a shoulder injury which ruled him out for a couple of weeks. In January, Delap finally scored his first and only goal of the Premier League season.

Next term, the Englishman faces even more competition for a place in the squad. Xabi Alonso will have the pick of seven Chelsea strikers: Joao Pedro, Delap, Emmanuel Emegha, Nicolas Jackson, Marc Guiu, Shim Mhueka and Dastan Satpayev. With only one game a week, the Blues manager may only need two or three frontmen.

Both Florent Malouda and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink have urged Delap to leave. Malouda said: "Liam Delap to Newcastle could be a success" and advised him: "I think he needs regular football he needs to play. Confidence will come from that. For any opportunity of course nothing is guaranteed but he needs to go to a club where he will have more chances. I don't think even with the new manager at Chelsea he will have more game time."

Hasselbaink was equally blunt: "Liam Delap needs to play. He needs to play football matches ASAP. I think next year is only going to be harder for him to get minutes at Chelsea because there aren't going to be as many games they are only playing in the Premier League and the domestic cups since they aren't in Europe. The squad is going to be tighter and they'll mostly just be playing on Saturdays. It's going to be very tough for him to get on the pitch. He cannot afford to have another year where he doesn't play matches. If that means he needs to be loaned out or sold so he can play week-in week-out then so be it."