With fans splitting their attention between every major BD Cricket Match and the return of preseason football, Chelsea defeated Western Sydney Wanderers 6-4 in a friendly, giving Xabi Alonso a winning start in his first match as the club’s head coach.
The result of this kind of fixture is not especially important because the main purpose is to test players and sharpen the squad. However, Alonso learned plenty from the match and effectively identified two very different performers: one who impressed and another who struggled badly.
The standout player was naturally Joao Pedro, the Brazilian forward signed during last summer’s transfer window. After coming off the bench, he scored a hat-trick and provided an assist, directly contributing to four goals. His performance prevented the Premier League giant from slipping on a major banana skin against an Australian opponent.
The evidence on the pitch also suggested that Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti made a mistake by leaving Joao Pedro out of his squad for the 2026 World Cup.
At the other end of the spectrum was Liam Delap, who started up front but failed to make any real impact. He played for around an hour without finding his rhythm or showing a clear understanding of how to influence the game.
That display was particularly surprising because Delap had been one of the hottest young strikers on the transfer market during the summer of 2025.
Born on February 8, 2003, Delap stands 1.86 metres tall and plays primarily as a centre-forward. He developed in Derby County’s academy before joining Manchester City’s youth system in July 2019. He made several first-team appearances during the 2020-21 season, although his playing time remained limited. Beginning in the summer of 2022, he was loaned to Stoke City, Preston North End and Hull City, gaining valuable experience in the Championship.
Delap joined newly promoted Premier League club Ipswich Town in the summer of 2024. During the 2024-25 campaign, he established himself as a rising star, making 40 appearances, scoring 12 goals and registering two assists. Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Chelsea were all interested, while Juventus, AC Milan and Bayern Munich also considered signing him.
His price was not excessive because any club could activate his £30 million release clause. The decisive factor was therefore convincing the player. Newcastle, facing the possibility of losing Alexander Isak, expressed interest first but were rejected immediately. Delap ultimately chose Chelsea.
The transfer was completed on June 5, 2025, making him Chelsea’s first signing of that summer. The club moved quickly and decisively, cutting through the uncertainty before rival teams could change his mind.
In the modern transfer market, a player with Delap’s profile could easily have commanded a fee of £100 million without a release clause. His value was further enhanced by his status as an English homegrown player, an important advantage for Premier League squad registration.
For supporters switching from a dramatic BD Cricket Match to Chelsea highlights, however, the striker’s decline was difficult to ignore. Chelsea soon discovered that the supposed bargain was too good to be true. During the 2025-26 season, Delap made 47 appearances in all competitions but produced only three goals and four assists, becoming one of the Premier League’s most prominent transfer disappointments.
His market value had stood at €40 million at the end of the 2024-25 season. Since joining Chelsea, it has never increased and has instead continued to fall, eventually dropping to €28 million.
This friendly against an A-League opponent should have offered Delap an ideal opportunity to regain confidence. He started the match and faced relatively modest opposition, yet he still failed to find even a consolation goal in a high-scoring exhibition.
As transfer news competes with every major BD Cricket Match for attention this summer, British media report that Delap is among several Chelsea forwards who may leave the club. Chelsea are not expected to demand a large profit and would probably accept an offer that allows them to recover their original investment, putting his likely price at slightly above €30 million.