England Under-21 boss Lee Carsley will name his final 23-man squad ahead of the upcoming European Championship on Friday and it is set to have huge implications for Chelsea. After the Blues confirmed the transfer of Liam Delap, their summer plans hang in the balance.
Delap was announced as a new Chelsea player on Wednesday night, one week after indicating his preference to move to Stamford Bridge. The £30million deal was completed swiftly by all parties with the intention of having Delap’s future sown up before the start of the Euros. He was included in the provisional and much bigger squad named by Carsley ahead of the tournament. That will be cut down at the end of this week.
However, Chelsea have their own summer commitments. On June 16, they kick off their Club World Cup campaign in America with a fixture against MLS outfit Los Angeles FC in Atlanta.
That game comes four days after Delap and England are slated to start their Euros defence against Slovakia. Chelsea are hopeful of having Delap stateside with them but the player has had eyes on a final chance of youth international glory.
He wanted things to be decided swiftly after the Premier League concluded almost two weeks ago and has had his wish granted. That is in contrast to Chelsea’s plans as they acted quickly to get a deal over the line with the ambition of using Delap in the Club World Cup.
Given that pre-season is going to be extremely condensed for Enzo Maresca, any time he can get with Delap and new players – as well as the remaining squad – will be crucial. FIFA rules state that players have the right to at least three straight weeks off.
Should Chelsea get to the final of the Club World Cup, there would only be one month before the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season. In that time, players would expected to have their holiday and then be up to speed, essentially with one week for preparation.
Chelsea are using the Club World Cup as an early pre-season, although most in the group have also been called up for their countries for matches this week, making things even more complicated. Delap will have the choice as to where he plays over the summer.
There is the prospect that he features in the Euros for England and then makes the trip to USA for the knockout stages of the Club World Cup, but it would be a physical and logistical challenge. Chelsea can name up to 50 players in their provisional squad for the revamped summer competition.
If Delap is included in that – which he is eligible for as long as FIFA transfer and registration steps have been completed as standard – then he could also make an extended 35-man squad for the rest of the tournament. This does open up Delap to having the best of both worlds.
For Chelsea, it promises to be a defining moment in their summer. Having Delap for the entirety of the Club World Cup would be invaluable time with a player who needs to acclimatise to playing regular possession-based football at an elite level for the first time in his senior career.
His experience with Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer at Manchester City in the academy setup under the management of Enzo Maresca should help with that, but Delap will nonetheless be taking a step up for sure and will need a period of adaption. The sooner that can happen, the better.
It is why Chelsea are pressing so heavily for early deals before the premature June 10 summer deadline. The window will re-open one week later but players registered after that will have to wait until after the group stage of the Club World Cup to play for Chelsea.
Jamie Gittens and Mike Maignan are the two key names being explored currently with a view to getting them in before the opener in America. It is easier said than done.
The same goes for Hugo Ekitike, although there is a much bigger gap in value between Chelsea and Eintracht Frankfurt for him (at over £80million) than with Milan and Borussia Dortmund. Ekitike would, at least, have a free summer ahead of him after withdrawing from the France Under-21 squad due to back pain.
As for Delap, Chelsea will have to wait to see how things play out. Whilst Chelsea could reasonably include Delap in their Club World Cup squad without using him, England have less room for manoeuvre under Carsley and will not want to waste a spot on someone who is not going to play.
This all makes Friday’s announcement yet another huge early point in Chelsea’s summer and it is a possibly defining one.
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