Everton should go back in for Liam Delap at the end of the season after missing out on the striker to Chelsea last summer.

That’s the view of Pat Nevin, who moved from Chelsea to Everton himself in 1988, albeit in rather different circumstances. The Londoners had just gone down from the top flight when the winger swapped Stamford Bridge for Goodison Park, with the Blues having lifted a second League Championship in three seasons the previous year.

With Delap having a relegation release clause at Ipswich Town, David Moyes made the unusual step of publicly declaring his interest in the England Under-21 international. Although the player was ultimately lured to the capital by the opportunity to play in the FIFA Club World Cup, Champions League and – at the time – work under his former Manchester City youth coach Enzo Maresca, the ECHO understands Delap, who added his signature to the wall at 37 Goodison Road, following Ipswich Town’s 2-2 draw in Everton’s penultimate fixture at Goodison Park, and his entourage, were both still hugely impressed with Moyes and his sales pitch.

Despite netting a dozen Premier League goals for the Suffolk outfit as...