According to British media "Confidential", Thomas Tuchel is expected to communicate with Liam Delap to discuss the conditions required to obtain his first call-up to the England team.
Delap has recently recovered from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for two months, but the Chelsea striker hopes to use his outstanding performance in the second half of the season to earn himself a chance to participate in the World Cup which kicks off in six months.
The 22-year-old forward has yet to make his debut for the national team, but it has always been his dream to represent the Three Lions. With Tuchel facing a lack of clear replacements for Harry Kane, the manager is in a dilemma over which forwards to take with him to North America.
"Confidential News" learned from authoritative channels that Delap has been included in Tuchel's preliminary list for all positions, but the former Chelsea coach has never publicly discussed Delap in detail.
Its competitors include Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney, Dominic Solanke, Danny Welbeck and other players, but none of the above candidates have locked in their seats.
The next training session of the England team is scheduled for March. It is reported that Tuchel plans to have a conversation with Delap beforehand and clearly inform him of the goals he hopes to see the players achieve at Chelsea. Obviously, the first criterion for a striker is his scoring efficiency, and Delap has yet to score for Chelsea in the Premier League after missing most of the season due to injury.
The forward scored 12 goals in 37 games for Ipswich last season. This summer, he moved to the Blues for 30 million pounds to reunite with Enzo Maresca. He worked with Maresca when he played for Manchester City, scoring 24 goals in a single season in the youth team, and has represented England U21 12 times.
Tuchel has been seen at Chelsea games before, including a 1-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League and a 2-2 draw with Brentford in the Premier League. Delap was absent from both games due to injury, but it is expected to soon see the two interact when Tuchel inspects the Blues on site.