Oliver Glasner has backed Liam Delap to make a big impact at Nottingham Forest after the striker completed his move from Chelsea.
Nottingham Forest have agreed an initial £45m fee with Chelsea for the 23-year-old, with a further £5m available in add-ons. It makes Delap the club-record signing and puts plenty of attention on what he can bring to the City Ground.
Oliver Glasner, though, already knows exactly what he wants from his new forward.
“I am convinced that he is the perfect player for us,” said Glasner in his press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Liverpool.
The Forest boss was involved in the club’s efforts to bring Delap to Nottingham and believes the striker also saw Forest as the right place for the next stage of his career.
Glasner explains what attracted Forest to Delap
Liam Delap had no shortage of admirers after his season with Ipswich Town.
He scored 12 Premier League goals in 2024-25, form which persuaded Chelsea to trigger his £30m release clause last summer. Things didn’t work out as planned in London, though.
Delap managed just one Premier League goal, starting 12 matches and making another 16 appearances from the bench.
That difficult season hasn’t changed Glasner’s opinion.
“We were in talks for many days and we convinced him that Nottingham Forest was the right club for his career. Before he went to Chelsea, I think everyone in the Premier League wanted Liam, after his amazing season with Ipswich.”
Forest were looking for another striker and Delap’s style was a major part of the appeal.
“When we heard that it was possible, and we were looking for a striker, of course, with physicality and pace, who runs in behind, we wanted to do it.”
That’s an important part of why Glasner sees Delap as such a good fit.
The Forest head coach wants a forward who can make use of space, stretch a defence and still provide a threat when he gets the chance to finish.
Liam Delap gets chance to rebuild at Forest
Glasner also believes the move makes sense for Delap himself.
“He was looking for a club where he has a better chance of getting minutes; where he can reignite his career,” Glasner said.
Delap already is a proven Premier League goalscorer. His time at Ipswich proved he can get behind defences and score a few. The year at Chelsea, by contrast, was a struggle, and he now arrives at Forest with something to prove. He will be hoping to replicate his Ipswich form for the East Midlands club.
Glasner sees plenty to work with.
“The way we play, he is a player who needs a little space. His strengths are his power and his finishing.”
The manager also pointed to qualities beyond Delap’s numbers.
“We are getting a player who is still young, who has proven he can score goals in the Premier League. His profile and personality convinced us when we talked. He is hungry, he wants to improve.”
That final part that he is hungry could be just as important as the transfer fee. More than Nottingham and Glasner, Delap will be buzzing to prove everyone wrong and put his Chelsea days behind.
The £45m initial fee and a club record fee certainly adds pressure and make expectations high, but Glasner clearly isn’t concerned about that.
He believes Nottingham Forest have signed the right player.
