Chelsea have ALREADY paid off Liam Delap transfer fee with Club World Cup earnings alone

LIAM DELAP is off the mark  – after putting Chelsea in the black.

At least in terms of the striker’s £30million arrival from Ipswich just three weeks ago.

Delap angled his first ever goal for the Blues as a 3-0 win over ES Tunis booked a place in the Club World Cup knockout stages.

Reaching the last 16 means Chelsea have already earned £33.8m from the CWC.

That more than covers the 22-year-old’s transfer fee – by £3.8m, in fact.

Admittedly, that extra bit barely pays the first eight months of Delap’s salary.

The former England Under-21 ace signed on at Stamford Bridge for around £100,000 a week – £5.2m every year until 2031.

Chelsea didn’t even have to break sweat in the fierce heat of the USA to make the opening £25m from the CWC.

Because that sum was just for participating in the 64-team tournament.

The Blues then got nothing in more senses than one from their first Group D clash as Flamengo roared back to triumph 3-1.

But victories over Los Angeles and Tunis scooped £1.5m each.

That’s £3m – with another £5.8m for making the KO phase.

Cold, hard cash – after bringing in a forward known for his bold, hard play.

Delap relishes that bash-and-grab side of the game, something like that of an old-fashioned targetman.

He said: “Yeah, I love those battles. I always have since I was a kid.

“I really love the aggressive side of it and the competitive nature of the squad.

“It’s got to be controlled at times but it’s my game ultimately and I enjoy it.”

And he’s also far from fazed at Chelsea handing him the iconic No.9 shirt.

Big-name stars Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain and Romelu Lukaku all struggled for the Blues in that top.

But Delap told talkSPORT: “I chose it. At the end of the day, it’s just a number on the back of your shirt.

“The number nine has always been related to strikers, so it’s something I like, but there is no pressure.”

It’s too early of course to judge if Delap will be a hit with that top.

But financially, his numbers are already adding up for Chelsea.