Челсид өнгөрүүлсэн хүндхэн улирлын дараа Лиам Делап Ноттингем Форестэд нэгдэж, шинэ сорилтод бэлэн байгаагаа илэрхийллээ.
Ноттингем Форест довтлогч Лиам Делапыг 45 сая фунт стерлингээр эгнээндээ нэгтгэсэн бөгөөд дасгалжуулагч Оливер Гласнер түүнийг багийн довтолгооны гол хүн болно гэж үзэж байна. Делап өнгөрсөн улиралд Челсид 28 тоглолтод оролцохдоо ердөө 1 гоол оруулсан нь түүний хувьд хүндхэн сорилт болсон ч үүнийг туршлага хуримтлуулах боломж гэж харж байгаа юм.
Тэрээр Ноттингем Форест дэх дебют тоглолтоо Ливерпүүлийн эсрэг хийж, 2-2-оор тэнцсэн тоглолтод Нико Уильямст торгуулийн цохилт авахад нь тусалсан. Делап өөрийн сэтгэл зүйн хувьд хүчтэй байгаагаа онцлоод, талбай дээрх ширүүн тэмцэл нь түүний тоглолтын хэв маягт тохирдог гэдгийг дурдлаа.
Дасгалжуулагч Оливер Гласнер түүнийг талбай дээр буулт хийдэггүй, тэмцэгч шинж чанартай нь багийн тоглолтын философид нийцэж байгааг онцолсон. Ноттингем Форестэд тэрээр Манчестер Ситигийн академид хамт тоглож байсан Жеймс Макатитай дахин нэг багт тоглох болсон нь түүнийг шинэ орчиндоо дасахад тус дөхөм болж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Liam Delap is a player who, you suspect, will swiftly become popular with Nottingham Forest fans. Not just because he is armed with such a physical presence, but also because of his battling brand of determination.
They are chief among the qualities that convinced new Forest coach Oliver Glasner that he would be a great signing for Crystal Palace a year ago — and that made him want to bring the striker to the City Ground this season.
The 23-year-old believes he is at his best “when I am on that edge of being horrible” on the pitch.
It is a fighting spirit that was honed in his childhood back garden while kicking lumps out of his brother, Finn, who is now a central defender plying his trade in League One, English football’s third tier. Delap was at the Pirelli Stadium on Wednesday night to support 21-year-old Finn as he helped Burton Albion to a 4-1 win against AFC Wimbledon. And Forest’s new signing believes their sibling rivalry helped both of them hone a tough mentality.
“There were probably a lot of tears and a lot of fights (when they were kids),” says Delap, in an interview with journalists, including The Athletic. “I won, of course!
“It has probably really helped both of us. We have always been super competitive with each other. It must have been horrible at times because mum and dad will have had to separate us a lot, but it makes you stronger. When we were playing Monopoly when we were kids, it always ended with the table being flipped! We have a really good relationship now.”
Liam Delap spent a season at Chelsea before his move to Nottingham Forest late last month (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
This was the second summer running that Glasner had called Delap in an attempt to woo him into signing for the team he was managing. This time, he was successful, with Forest paying an initial £45million ($61m) to bring him in from Chelsea.
“I remember the conversation we had (last summer) and I was really impressed,” says Delap. He was a man in demand back then, after scoring 12 goals for a relegated Ipswich Town side in 2024-25, before opting to join Chelsea in a £30million deal.
“You never know what the right decision is because a million different things can happen. But for sure, he (Glasner) spoke really well and you can see in the past what he has done with his strikers. That was a big reason why I came here: because I believe that the way I play and the way I want to play suits this team.
“It (having a determined outlook) is through all aspects of life, not just football. It goes back to the point I made about my brother; about being little kids in the garden going at each other. That is me.
“I went through periods when I was younger when I was getting in trouble, but you have to go over that edge to learn how to control it and stay on the right side. You need to be careful but also you do not shy away from who you are.”
Delap’s critics have pointed to the forward having collected more yellow cards (33) than he has scored goals (27) in his senior career. But Glasner — and Forest — are convinced they have signed a natural goalscorer and somebody who is the perfect fit for them.
Glasner has already been impressed with Delap’s finishing power on the training ground — and does not want him to change his outlook.
“As a striker, you have to deal with 100kg defenders and they are not hugging you and kissing you, telling you that you are a lovely guy,” Glasner said in a press conference this week. “You are going to take knocks.
“I like players who do not accept everything. If you accept everything, you are easily a victim. You have to stand up and say: ‘Hey, man, that is enough’. We want this mentality. Everyone can expect that we will fight until the last minute. This should be part of our identity.”
It is definitely a part of Delap’s makeup, but then his brother was not the only football influence on him as he was growing up. His father, Rory, the former Derby County, Southampton and Stoke City midfielder, played a significant role, too.
“He was massive,” says Delap. “When we were younger, he would give us some if we were bad. Now he tends to talk about the mentality side and what it takes because he knows what it takes. He never put pressure on us but he was hard and tough. If I ever had any questions for him, he would be there.”
Delap senior became famous for his trademark long throw, which made it feel fitting when a quick throw-in from his son led to Neco Williams winning a penalty for Forest on his debut in the 2-2 draw at Anfield last weekend.
“I haven’t got one (a long throw) in my locker, I don’t think — but I am a striker, I need to be in the box getting on the end of them,” says Delap.
The former England youth international has been helped to settle in at Forest by James McAtee, who, along with Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer, was part of the talented Manchester City side that Delap played in after leaving Derby County’s academy.
“We (Delap and McAtee) have such a good relationship and it is great when you come to a new place and you have that,” Delap says. “When we met as kids, we got on really well. I was a striker and he was a No 10, so he would so often give me the ball. We had a really good relationship off the pitch and that translated on it.”
Liam Delap has been reunited with former Manchester City team-mate James McAtee at Forest (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
Delap has ambitions to play for England’s senior side, having featured for his country from under-15 to under-21 level.
“As a little kid, all you dream about is playing for your country and, in my mind, that is where I want to get to, but it is not as easy as that,” he says. “You have to work hard and improve, and that is all I can do.”
He also acknowledges he arrives at Forest with a point to prove following a frustrating spell at Chelsea, where he scored just once in 12 starts and 16 substitute appearances in the Premier League.
“You just have to accept sometimes that things go badly, things happen,” says Delap. “It might be a good thing. My first loans to Stoke and Preston — they didn’t go well and it was one of the best things that happened. I learned so much from those spells. I’m still young. I’ve still got a lot of learning to do.
“I don’t think anything’s lost. You have bad times and it’s never going to be a linear journey — straight to the top. At Ipswich, I got into a real good rhythm, so it’s getting back to that.
“Some people overthink things. I have always been a person who does not look at that stuff. Mentally, I am strong, I have good people around me. You just have to keep your head and carry on.”
