Delap Makes Comeback as Stamford Bridge Side Aim to Solve Forward Concerns
Attacker Liam Delap is returning from a muscle issue at a time of need for Chelsea.
The Stamford Bridge outfit were beaten 2-1 against shock contenders Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on the weekend, with boss Enzo Maresca attributing "a lack of creativity" and his team's delivery being "subpar".
Chelsea's strikers are struggling for goals and key passes as Delap makes his comeback in the Carabao Cup against struggling Wolves on midweek (prime time), having sat out 10 fixtures since sustaining the injury in the success over Fulham in the summer.
Maresca stated the emerging talent will be phased in "slowly", and the summer signing's return is vital for a team facing questions over their mixed results, which has left the cup competitions their best opportunity of securing honors this season.
Delap to Share Load With Joao Pedro
Chelsea brought in Delap from the Tractor Boys for £30m despite attention from the Red Devils, the Magpies and Goodison Park team.
Yet the Three Lions prospect was second to £55 million acquisition Joao Pedro in the team ranking at this global competition - and with good reason.
Joao Pedro registered a trio of strikes in three appearances as Chelsea won the inaugural tournament in the USA. The Brazilian forward notched additional strikes and three goal contributions in his opening quartet of league fixtures after moving from the Seagulls.
More lately, however, Joao Pedro has not scored in his last seven games. Maresca stated he is one of three players - along with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who presently require to be "protected".
When asked about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca said: "For sure the physical part is important. When you are not 100% it's challenging to excel, particularly in this league."
"Joao Pedro is not a classic center-forward that is going to net twenty times each year. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to get goals and give assists but he's a different kind of nine to those who net 20 to 25 goals every season like the Bayern legend, the French superstar or [Erling] Haaland."
Wider Problems in Chelsea's Forward Line
Chelsea confront broader problems apart from their strikers and Joao Pedro's scoreless streak.
Attacker Cole Palmer has played two full matches all season and is not anticipated to feature from a groin problem until the winter.
Wide player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a £52m package, has zero strikes and one goal contribution in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m recruit from Manchester United, has one score in seven matches and induced an opposition error against Benfica.
Estevao Willian, eighteen, has impressed since arriving from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has merely two scores and one assist - paralleling homegrown talent Tyrique George.
Striker Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have one goal each.
Marc Cucurella, who got seven from full-back last season, is without a goal this term. Winger Pedro Neto has one goal and two goal contributions in his previous two fixtures, but before that scored only once in the first 10 games.
After thirteen games in every tournament no striker has over two strikes, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's joint top scorers with four.
Queried whether a lack of natural goalscorers means responsibility must be shared, Maresca said: "Certainly, yes. We said many times that the quintet of attackers at the offense, we need numerous strikes from each, in the way we have done last term."
Maresca has developed approaches to be competitive despite attacking inconsistency. Chelsea are second place for dead-ball situations in the English top division, one less than Arsenal. In moreover, the Stamford Bridge side are the first team to have ten distinct net-finders in the Premier League this term.
Will Chelsea's Number Nine Curse Be Broken?
Some Chelsea supporters feel the striker's jersey - claimed by Delap in the off-season - is jinxed. It had been vacant since 2023, and footballers who wore it since 2006 have found scoring difficult, including:
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three goals in 21 games
- Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in fifty-eight matches
- Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in eighty-two matches
- Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in 19 games
- Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 goals in seventy-two matches
- Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one score in 12 games
- Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): forty-five strikes in 172 appearances
- Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in 16 games
- Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - a single strike in 25 games
- Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - no goals in 20 appearances
A central player and defensive specialist are among those listed, and some would suggest Abraham ended the jinx with his record, while legendary strikers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the striker's jersey.
But Delap was unconcerned when queried about the jinx. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he stated at the Club World Cup.
"Ultimately it's a digit on the shirt of your uniform. It's just a figure that has always been related to attackers so it's something that I appreciate and there's zero expectation."
