Former Super Eagles’ striker, Yakubu Aiyegbeni has added his voice to the ongoing debate about one of his former clubs, Everton of England gunning for Liam Delap from their English Premier League rivals, Chelsea, with a verdict that they need a striker ‘who can get the job done every weekend.’
Sports247 reports that Aiyegbeni, who also played for Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Liecester City and Blackburn Rovers in an edifying career that made him Africa’s top scorer in the EPL for several years, conceded that Delap’s rise from a non-league status to a Chelsea star appears to be intimidating.
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However, the former striker, who was fondly called ‘Yak Attack’ during his days with Everton, opined further that Delap has not been able to enact at Chelsea the top form that was seen from him during his breakout seasons with Ipswich Town, which he helped lift from obsecurity to EPL status.
Aiyegbeni’s comments come at a point reports indicate that Everton boss, David Moyes is already prioritising signing a new striker in the summer transfer window as he builds up his squad for the 2026/27 season, ahead of which Delap has been suggested as an option.
Delap, who bagged 12 EPL goals for Ipswich in the 2024/25 season, is under the spotlight, after Moyes lost out to Chelsea in the race to sign him last season and The Blues are open to an offer in the region of £30m, but Yakubu is not convinced by the former Tractors’ star’s prospects.
‘The Yak’ concluded with a verdict that, while he does not accept Delap as the next top striker to lift The Toffees to EPL glory, he will not completely rule out the possibility of the incoming attacker being able to replicate the heroic form he had during his days with Ipswich.
Aiyegbeni posited in an interview with ToffeeWeb, “When you look at Delap, he did well at Ipswich, scoring goals, and then moved to Chelsea. It’s a massive leap from Ipswich to Chelsea and he’s found it difficult.
“To bring him from Chelsea to Everton, it’s not going to be easy. We’re looking for a striker who can get the job done every weekend, and he’s not a bad player to bring in – but can he do the same as he did at Ipswich?”
Sports247 reports further that Everton, who have at various points in the past also featured the former Super Eagles’ quartet of Daniel Amokachi, Victor Anichebe, Joseph Yobo and Alex Iwobi, are based in the same Merseyside district where Liverpool have been dominant over the years.
