L. Delap

Liam Delap made his senior debut for Manchester City, scoring the winner against AFC Bournemouth in the EFL Cup, yet the City first team never became his home. The real education came out on loan — at Stoke City, at Preston North End, and finally at Hull City, where he was named Player of the Month in December 2023 after 31 appearances and eight goals.

Ipswich Town took the gamble in the summer of 2024, and it paid off within weeks. Delap scored a brace against Aston Villa in September, the first Ipswich player to do so in the Premier League since 2002, and by New Year he had a goal and an assist in a 2–0 win over Chelsea that gave the club its first Premier League home victory since 2002. Thirty-seven league appearances and twelve goals later, he finished the season as Ipswich's top scorer and Player of the Year, and earned a nomination for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

Chelsea signed him that summer on a six-year contract. A first Champions League goal in a 3–0 win over Barcelona in November 2025, and a hat-trick of assists in an FA Cup fifth-round win over Hull City the following February, preceded a £45 million move to Nottingham Forest in August 2026.

At youth level, Delap was part of the England side that won the 2022 European Under-19 Championship, setting up the winning goal in the final against Israel. He went on to earn twelve caps and three goals for the Under-21s, though he opted to join Chelsea's Club World Cup campaign in 2025 rather than play in the European Under-21 Championship.