Chelsea reactivate striker deal as Rosenior seeks Delap replacement

Robin Bairner

7 Feb 2026 13:05 GMT
4 min read

Chelsea are ready to reactivate their interest in a long-time target as manager Liam Rosenior seeks a replacement for the misfiring Liam Delap.

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The Blues snapped up Delap from Ipswich in the summer, having been impressed by the 12 Premier League goals he scored for the relegated side last season.

The 22-year-old has failed to recapture that form this term, scoring only twice in 21 appearances, and though Chelsea will sign Emmanuel Emegha from Rosenior’s former club Strasbourg, they are also now ready to fight Tottenham to land Samu Aghehowa, according to TeamTalk.

Compared

Liam Delap

F (C), AM (R)

Chelsea

Liam Delap

F (C), AM (R)

Chelsea

VS

Samu Aghehowa

F (C)

Porto

Samu Aghehowa

F (C)

Porto

€48.4M	ETV	€63.7M
€43.6M - €53.2M	ETV Range	€57.4M - €70.1M
22 years old (08 Feb, 2003)	Age	22 years old (01 Jan, 2004)
England	Nationality	Spain

Samu Aghehowa a young star in form

Chelsea were a whisker away from signing Samu, who was then known as Samu Omorodion, in the summer of 2024 but they were not willing to match Atletico Madrid’s demands and the 22-year-old went to Porto instead.

There has been no relent in the scoring power of the 21-year-old since he moved to Portugal. He has scored 47 goals in 76 games with Porto, winning Spain caps in the process.

A fierce battle is expected for the striker. As well as Spurs, Newcastle are also thought to be tracking the player.

What type of transfer fee will Chelsea pay?

While there has been no indication of what Chelsea will have to pay to prise Aghehowa away from Porto, his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) sits an impressive €63.7m.

The Blues have been reticent to overpay even for the best young talent in recent windows, so would likely be looking to part with a figure around this mark in order to land the 22-year-old.

Analysis: Would Samu Aghehowa be a Chelsea hit?

Chelsea appear ready to ignore the risks of signing a prolific centre-forward from Portugal in order to complete this deal.

Liverpool’s recent move for Darwin Nunez and Arsenal’s deal for Viktor Gyokeres have both proven to be flops. Both strikers were scoring at the rate of around one per game in Portugal but failed to show anything like that form in the Premier League.

Stamford Bridge has been a notoriously hostile environment for centre-forwards to thrive, with the last great Chelsea hitman arguably Didier Drogba.

Aghehowa will be seeking to break this run should this eye-catching deal be completed.

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