Liam Delap transfer: Chelsea's £50m-rated flop 'working on' switch to Premier League rival

Liam Delap is rumoured to be closing in on a move away from Chelsea, just 12 months after joining from Ipswich Town for £30m.

The 23-year-old attacker initially arrived with high expectations but endured a frustrating debut campaign heavily disrupted by shoulder and hamstring injuries.

Delap ultimately managed a disappointing return of just one league goal across the entire season for the West London club, and Chelsea are now actively looking to sanction a number of player sales and loan departures to trim their bloated 39-man senior squad before the transfer deadline on September 1.

As a result, the out-of-favour forward has been officially made available for transfer and is currently training separately from the first-team group.

PL club 'working on deal' for Delap

© Iconsport / PA Images

According to BBC Sport, Nottingham Forest are actively working on a deal to bring the English striker to the City Ground.

The two clubs maintain a positive working relationship, which could ease negotiations in the near future.

It is still unclear whether their talks concern a permanent transfer or a temporary loan, given that Chelsea reportedly set a high price of £50m for the forward to recover their initial investment and make a profit.

Meanwhile, Forest aims to strengthen their attack this month to challenge the established forwards Chris Wood and Igor Jesus.

Will Delap leave Stamford Bridge this summer?

© Imago / Sportsphoto

The writing appears to be firmly on the wall for Delap after he was completely omitted from the squad for Monday's Premier League victory against Fulham.

Delap's rapid fall down the pecking order was further highlighted when he recently lost his prestigious No. 9 shirt to fellow attacker Joao Pedro.

A move to the East Midlands would represent a fresh start for the young forward and allow him to remain in the English top flight.

Forest have already demonstrated their ambition this summer by recruiting Ousmane Diomande, Xaver Schlager and Steve Benda.

Their transfer war chest was recently boosted by the club-record £116m sale of Elliot Anderson to Manchester City and the £9m departure of Taiwo Awoniyi to Coventry City.