England under-21's boss Lee Carsley has said he is "delighted" that Liam Delap signed with Chelsea and insisted that he is not disappointed over the young strikers decision to participate in the Club World Cup instead of the U21 European Championship.
Delap signed with Chelsea from newly relegated-side Ipswich Town on Wednesday with a contract until the end of the 2030-31 season. He is set to travel with the squad for the Club World Cup in the United States later this month.
The U21 Euros begin on June 11, with England set to face Czech Republic in their opener on June 12.
Speaking at a news conference at St George's Park, Carsley said: "I'm definitely not disappointed. I'm delighted for Liam and his family. It's a brilliant thing for an English centre-forward to play in the Premier League at such a prestigious club like Chelsea.
"Hopefully, he'll do really well there and push for the senior team. We'll move on. We've moved on quite quickly. We've always known that two or three of the players could move to clubs that were playing in the Club World Cup.
"The Club World Cup hasn't come out of the blue. We've been preparing for this competition for two years, knowing that the Club World Cup was always in the background.
"It's not frustrating one bit. I definitely still see the importance of some of our players that will play in that competition. It's a brilliant thing for them to do."
Carsley named his 23-player squad on Friday, with Jobe Bellingham also featuring, despite being linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund, who are also competing in the Club World Cup.
Regular Premier League players Tino Livramento, Archie Gray, Harvey Elliott, Omari Hutchinson and Ethan Nwaneri are all included in Carsley's squad as he aims to retain the title won two years ago in Georgia.
Manchester City's James McAtee will captain the side.
