Chelsea boss made me train alone and took my shirt number off me - this is how I reacted

· FootballLondon

One of Xabi Alonso's most brutal first acts as Chelsea boss has come to light

Liam Delap says he was forced to train away from the rest of the Chelsea squad and stripped of his shirt number before his exit.

Delap’s 14-month spell with the Blues came to an end in late August after he sealed a £50million transfer to Nottingham Forest - a club record for Forest. He had initially joined Chelsea in June 2025 while his former Manchester City coach Enzo Maresca was in charge.

The striker featured heavily last term, making 47 appearances across all competitions. But he struggled in the second half of the season, firstly due to injury, and then as a result of Maresca’s departure, after which Joao Pedro became the clear preferred No.9 option.

Following new head coach Xabi Alonso’s arrival in the summer, Delap hoped for a fresh start, which he initially got by featuring in the early August pre-season fixtures against Tottenham, Juventus and Johor Darul Ta’zim, scoring a penalty in the latter.

However, once Chelsea returned to Cobham, Alonso finalised his plans for the new campaign and made the tactical decision to move away from the 23-year-old. Delap was omitted from the side picked to face Real Sociedad in the final pre-season game on August 15 and, just days later, the manager exiled a dozen stars from Chelsea’s bloated first-team squad.

Delap and several other out-of-favour players were relegated to the club’s 'bomb squad' to train separately. Alonso’s preference for Pedro was confirmed when he handed the Brazilian the No.9 jersey, which belonged to Delap previously, before he had even departed. Danny Welbeck was also brought in from Brighton as the new back-up striker.

Looking back on the summer prior to his move to Forest, Delap told The Telegraph: > “Obviously it’s a bit rubbish going to train away from the group, but I think I’ve got really good people around me.

> “My dad [Rory, the former Stoke midfielder and Republic of Ireland international] has been through it all, and you hear everything that happens in football, so nothing surprises you.

> “That good culture that I’ve got around me helped and it’s just about keeping your head down. Only do what you can do right because if you do something bad then it will only be negative on you.”

Delap went on to name Oliver Glasner as one of the key reasons why he chose to join Forest, having been tracked by the Austrian manager since he was at Crystal Palace last year.

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