Nottinghamshire

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Liam Delap can revive his career at Nottingham Forest after his Chelsea nightmare, according to boss Oliver Glasner.

The Austrian believes the City Ground is the perfect place for the striker after his record £50m move.

Delap, 23, had been frozen out by new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso and was not training with the group, while his number nine shirt was taken by Joao Pedro.

He scored just once in the Premier League after a £30m move from Ipswich last summer but has become the most expensive signing in Forest's history.

Glasner said: "He had a difficult season at Chelsea and in the last weeks he wasn't allowed to train with the team any more.

"It's clear you have to look for a club where you have better chances to get minutes and reignite your career. That's why I think we're the right club.

"We were in talks for many days and we tried to convince him - and we could convince Liam that Nottingham Forest is the right club, at the right moment, for where he is in his career.

"Before he picked Chelsea, everyone in the Premier League wanted Liam. We heard it was possible and we were looking for a striker with physicality and especially with pace.

"When Taiwo [Awoniyi] left, the one who made the runs in behind was missing. We were looking for this profile. Liam is the perfect fit and we are the perfect club for him.

"He is hungry and wants to improve. The entire package looked great."

Tasnim Chowdhury
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Midfielders Morgan Gibbs-White and Ryan Yates will be available, but Ibrahim Sangare will miss the match on Saturday because of a calf injury picked up during training on Wednesday.

• Glasner said new signing Liam Delap is the "perfect player" for his side and Forest will "reignite" his career. He added: "He is hungry, he wants to improve, he wants to make a step forward - and this is what we are looking for when we sign players. So the entire package looked great."

• Glasner expects at least one more signing. He said the club could "potentially" sign a wing-back, but when asked about potentially signing Dainel Munoz from Crystal Palace, he said: "No comments on any names. When the ink is dry, you will be informed."

• On improving the mentality of players, Glasner said: "When you had such a difficult, tricky, challenging season then something happens in your head. This is the biggest part to change, to improve, and this is probably the part that takes longest. It's a lot of psychology and confidence - there is no button you can press."

• On making changes, he added: "If we want things to change, we have to change them. No-one will do it for us. And this is sometimes getting out of the comfort zone and accepting reality. Roll your sleeves up, head down and let's go. This is the mentality we want to create. Roll your sleeves up, work hard every single day and then we will get better results."

• He said the formation will be decided after the transfer window, based on the players he has. Glasner added: "I always want to have our best players on the pitch, so I'm not strictly saying we have to play in a 3-4-3. If I believe we need more attacking players on the pitch, then we will change the system immediately - then some players will have different roles."

• On Liverpool: "Liverpool had some changes with the new manager, Andoni Iraola, who has done an excellent job with Bournemouth. We know his style of pla and it is very intense. They have a very attacking midfield with Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz, and very attacking full-backs with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez."

Hit play above to hear more from Glasner, speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray, or listen on BBC Sounds here

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Former Nottingham Forest defender Brian Laws believes new record signing Liam Delap is like a "young Chris Wood" and says he likes a lot of aspects of his game.

The 23-year-old signed from Chelsea for £50m on Thursday and he will be hoping to find his form after struggling at Stamford Bridge last season.

Speaking on BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast, Laws said: "We've all been banging the drum about signing a striker as a priority. We can't just rely on Chris Wood and Igor Jesus.

"It was important to bring in someone who's got experience within the Premier League. He's a young player. I do like him in lots of ways. He's almost like a young Chris Wood where he will cause havoc and won't give centre-halves a rest. He will chase things down that he maybe shouldn't get, but the most important thing is I want to see him in the box. I want to see him attack the ball."

Delap will be hoping to rediscover the form that caught Chelsea's eye. While at Ipswich Town, in his first regular season of top-flight football, the former Manchester City academy graduate notched 12 league goals and BBC Radio Suffolk's Brenner Woolley said that form made him think he would "undoubtedly" be a future England striker.

"He was terrific during his solitary season in Suffolk, and while the team collectively clearly found themselves out of their depth, he never did," Woolley told the pod.

"He looked like a Premier League player from the opening day. I remember the opening day against Liverpool and he bullied Jarell Quansah out of the game to the extent Arne Slot took him off at half-time.

"He was quick, he was powerful, persistent. He scored some really, really good goals. He was sometimes overly physical and picked up one or two daft yellow cards. He could hold the ball up, his link-up play was decent and he looked a real prospect.

"At that stage, he undoubtedly looked an England number nine for the future."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Nottingham Forest have made an offer worth up to £22m for Crystal Palace and Colombia wing-back Daniel Munoz, 30. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid are considering signing forward Igor Jesus from Forest. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

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A fresh episode of BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast has dropped on BBC Sounds.

David Jackson and Colin Fray discuss Liam Delap's £50m move to the City Ground - plus hear an interview with Reds goalkeeper Matz Sels

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Explore all Nottingham Forest content on BBC Sounds

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

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In a summer of staggering transfer fees, Liam Delap's move to Nottingham Forest stands out.

An outlay of £50m for a striker who scored one league goal last season - at a £20m profit to Chelsea - has caught the eye.

But Delap is only 23 years old and has scored goals in the Premier League before.

The overriding positive for Forest fans digesting Delap's inflated fee - which can be partly explained by Ipswich Town reportedly receiving 20% of any profit made on their £30m sale to Chelsea last summer - is that Oliver Glasner's man-management and tactical set-up are both likely to suit the new arrival.

Glasner tends to prefer playing without the ball - his Crystal Palace team averaged 46% possession last season - while the Austrian also likes to attack directly at pace, suiting Delap's natural assets.

Glasner also has recent form for turning around a centre-forward's career after transforming Jean-Philippe Mateta at Selhurst Park.

Mateta improved his shot conversion rate and halved the number of minutes it took to score goals under Glasner, operating in the same type of targetman role that Delap is set to fulfil at Forest.

Delap also remains a valuable commodity in the sense that he is one of only 10 English forwards aged 23 or under regularly playing in Europe's top five leagues.

On Match of the Day in November 2024, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said: "I would probably go as far as to say he is the obvious long-term successor to Harry Kane. He is the best young English striker out there.

"I just don't see a weakness for him. He has that lovely balance between physical and technical [ability] - and rarely do you get both. He is a super talent."

Delap's international ambitions may have to wait for the time being but Glasner improved Mateta to the point of him playing for France at the 2026 World Cup.

Significant interest will surround how far he can take Delap.

Read the full article here

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Nottingham Forest record signing Liam Delap believes Oliver Glasner can be the coach to "really help me develop and get to that next step".

Delap has completed a £50m transfer from Chelsea and signed a five-year deal at the City Ground after just one season at Stamford Bridge.

The 23-year-old striker struggled in west London, scoring just one league goal, but was convinced of the Forest project by new head coach Glasner, who himself arrived earlier this summer.

"I'm buzzing," Delap said on the move.

"I really can't wait to get started, it's a massive club with a big history so I can't wait.

"I spoke with the head coach and I really like his way. I think he can be the one to really help me develop and get to that next step. There're some top players here as well and I'm looking forward to playing alongside them."

Delap scored 12 goals for Ipswich Town in his first Premier League campaign in 2024-25 in a side that only won four games all season and were relegated in 19th place.

"It was probably the time when I've enjoyed playing football the most and I think that was when I played my best football as well," he added.

"Hopefully I can recreate that here.

"I'm aggressive and I play with a lot of speed and aggression. Hopefully I can bring some goals here as well.

"With the new head coach I think we can build something really strong. The main aim is to challenge and be a top club in the Premier League."

Fiorentina have turned down Nottingham Forest's initial bid of £6m for Brazilian right-back Dodo, 27. (Sky Sport Italy - in Italian, external)

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