Cesc Fabregas's side head into Saturday's trip to Udinese with their squad still short of a recognised out-and-out centre-forward, a gap that leaves Tasos Douvikas as the only guaranteed presence in that role, with Patrick Gabrielloni and Assane Diao both on their way out and Álvaro Morata needing to rebuild trust after a season to forget.
Como's growing interest in Delap took a concrete step forward this weekend when the club's assistant coach, Dani Guindos, travelled to Stamford Bridge alongside staff member Diego Pérez to watch Chelsea's final preseason friendly against Real Sociedad.
Delap, who was left out of Xabi Alonso's squad for that match entirely, saw the decision read in Italy as a clear signal that the Spanish head coach is prepared to build his forward line around other options at Chelsea this season.
Contacts between the two clubs began even before the visit to west London, with talks understood to be centred on a loan structure. Delap scored 12 goals for a modest Ipswich Town side two seasons ago before his big-money move to Chelsea, and a switch away from Stamford Bridge would offer him the chance of a personal reset after losing his main backer at the club.
Chelsea, for their part, have Champions League football to look forward to alongside Serie A and Coppa Italia commitments domestically, giving them little incentive to settle for a fallback option in west London if a move to Como can be agreed.
On the pitch, Como's English tour ended in defeat at Anfield, with goals from Cody Gakpo and Jeremy Jacquet either side of the midway point of the first half handing Liverpool a 2-0 win.
The result followed a goalless draw against Arsenal a few days earlier and did little to dent the good feeling inside the camp, with head coach Fabregas pleased by what he saw from his side despite the scoreline.
"I'm proud and very happy with what I saw. To beat Liverpool we would have needed the perfect performance, but we still played with great personality and I saw plenty of positive signs," Fabregas said after the match.
"We're improving game by game, I'm very satisfied."
Como now turn their attention fully to the new Serie A season, which begins on Saturday at 6:30pm away to Udinese, the first of three consecutive away fixtures while renovation work continues on the Stadio Sinigaglia.