England manager Thomas Tuchel says Blues striker Liam Delap is on his radar but feels the 22-year-old needs to find a new club this summer before being considered for selection for the senior squad.
Delap, who appears certain to leave Town in the weeks following the end of the season having held talks with Manchester United, Newcastle United, Chelsea and Everton, was included in the U21s squad for a pre-European Championship training camp along with Omari Hutchinson named last night.
Tuchel has kept the likes of Delap, Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson, Jarell Quansah and Tino Livramento in the U21s with the belief that they will benefit from playing in the tournament with Lee Carsley’s side.
The former Chelsea boss says he’s well aware of Delap’s talents having had him join in with training with the senior squad in March, but says he will have to move on to a side playing in the Premier League next season before he will be considered for selection.
"[He] needs to show and prove it. It doesn’t help if we talk endlessly about him,” Tuchel said. "We know his quality, but the fact is he went down with Ipswich.
"He needs to find a chance to still compete in the Premier League and [then] he needs to fight for his place and score.
"But he’s clearly on our radar and we will never hold someone back because of age, not because he’s too old and not because he’s too young. He needs to show up now for the U21s, take it step by step.”