Delap loses number nine shirt & trains away from first team — SkimNews
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- Liam Delap has lost the number nine shirt at Chelsea, which has been given to Joao Pedro, and is now training in a second group away from the main squad at Cobham.
- Chelsea placed 12 players in the smaller training group on Wednesday, including Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk, Tosin Adarabioyo, Axel Disasi, Danny Welbeck, and Jordan Henderson, with movement between the two groups still possible.
- Chelsea are seeking £65m for Jackson, £50m for Delap, and £25m for Disasi as they look to trim a 40-player senior squad before the transfer window closes on 1 September.
- Mykhailo Mudryk has not played a competitive match since November 2024 but is now available on loan after resolving a doping case.
- Club sources insist the current arrangement is unlike last season's "bomb squad" treatment of Sterling and Disasi — which prompted PFA contact — and the players' union has no concerns this time.
- Liam Delap joined Chelsea in a £30m move from Ipswich Town last summer but scored just one Premier League goal in 28 appearances, 16 of which came as a substitute.
Why it matters: Chelsea hold 40 senior players and need to sell before the September 1 deadline — Delap's demotion to a secondary training group, after a £30m signing produced one Premier League goal in 28 games, signals the club have already moved on from the 23-year-old striker less than a year into his contract.
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