Chelsea scout striker that was prolific under Maresca

Chelsea will hope to end their dismal run of form when they host 20th-placed Southampton in the Premier League on Tuesday night. 

Enzo Maresca’s side once again surrendered a lead on Saturday, losing 2-1 against Aston Villa at Villa Park.

The Blues have now won just two of their last ten Premier League matches and have dropped from second place to seventh since Boxing Day.

Whilst pressure mounts on Maresca, the visit of struggling Southampton presents a good opportunity for the Blues to return to winning ways.

In the meantime, it appears that the West London outfit have been scouting a Premier League star.

As per TBR Football, Chelsea sent scouts to watch Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap in action against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon.

Chelsea sent scouts to watch Liam Delap in action on Saturday

The 22-year-old had netted in his previous two league outings but failed to find the back of the net against the Lilywhites, as Ange Postecoglou’s side ran out 4-1 winners at Portman Road.

Delap joined Ipswich from Manchester City last summer and has scored ten goals in 25 Premier League games so far this term.

During his time with Manchester City’s academy, Delap netted 27 times in 22 games working under current Chelsea boss Maresca, and it appears that the Italian is keen on the idea of a reunion with the forward.

By the time he left The Etihad, the striker had scored 36 goals in 35 matches for City’s Under-21s, as well as netting once for the Citizens at senior level.

Whilst several clubs – including Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United – have shown interest in Delap, the report claims that Chelsea are currently most keen on the Englishman and are in pole position to land him this summer.

Despite this, German clubs RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen also all had scouts in attendance at Portman Road to watch Delap in action.