Sunday's clash between Chelsea and Ipswich will be billed as Liam Delap's Stamford Bridge audition, but in reality the striker has already passed with flying colours. The Blues are determined to sign the 22-year-old, who is certain to move on this summer as the Tractor Boys slide towards the relegation trapdoor.
If he can deliver the kind of performance he produced in the reverse fixture, as he took the game by the scruff of the neck to inspire a shock 2-0 victory under the lights at Portman Road, Chelsea's big-spending owners might be tempted to peel open their chequebook there and then.
With all eyes on Delap, the Blues will hope this is more of a rehearsal than an audition - only with the forward lining up for the opposition. But as rival interest from across the Premier League begins to gather steam, the west Londoners need to make good on their groundwork to get a potential bargain transfer over the line.
