Delap Makes Comeback as Stamford Bridge Side Look to Address Striker Issues
Striker Liam Delap is returning from a muscle issue at a important period for Chelsea.
The Stamford Bridge outfit were beaten 2-1 against surprise package Sunderland at their home ground on the weekend, with manager Enzo Maresca attributing "limited inventiveness" and his team's delivery being "below standard".
Chelsea's forwards are struggling for goals and key passes as Delap makes his comeback in the EFL Cup against struggling Wolves on midweek (prime time), having missed 10 games since sustaining the injury in the success over Fulham in the summer.
Maresca said the emerging talent will be slowly integrated "gradually", and the recent acquisition's availability is crucial for a team facing questions over their mixed results, which has left the cup competitions their primary hope of winning a trophy this term.
Delap to Take Pressure Off Joao Pedro
Chelsea signed Delap from the Tractor Boys for £30m despite attention from Old Trafford club, St James' Park side and Everton.
Yet the England Under-21s forward was behind expensive recruit Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this summer's Club World Cup - and with solid justification.
Joao Pedro found the net three times in three outings as Chelsea secured the maiden title in the America. The Brazilian forward scored another two and three assists in his opening quartet of league fixtures after arriving from Brighton.
More recently, however, Joao Pedro has not scored in his past seven matches. Maresca revealed he is one of a trio of players - along with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who currently need to be "shielded".
When questioned about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca remarked: "Certainly the conditioning element is important. When you are not fully fit it's challenging to excel, particularly in this competition."
"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to reach twenty strikes each year. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to score and create chances but he's a alternative type of striker to players who get 20 to 25 goals annually like the Bayern legend, [Kylian] Mbappe or [Erling] Haaland."
Wider Problems in Chelsea's Attack
Chelsea deal with broader problems apart from their strikers and Joao Pedro's goalless run.
Forward Cole Palmer has completed two games all campaign and is not anticipated to feature from a lower body issue until next month.
Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a £52m package, has zero strikes and one goal contribution in 10 matches. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m recruit from Manchester United, has one goal in seven games and induced an opposition error against Benfica.
Estevao Willian, 18, has entertained since moving from Palmeiras for a fee rising to £51m, but has merely two scores and one assist - paralleling academy forward Tyrique George.
Forward Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have one score each.
Marc Cucurella, who notched seven from full-back last season, is yet to find the net this campaign. Attacking player Pedro Neto has one score and two assists in his last two games, but prior to that scored only once in the opening ten matches.
After thirteen games in various cups no attacker has above two scores, with midfielders Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's equal leading marksmen with four goals.
Questioned whether a lack of natural goalscorers means duties need distributing, Maresca said: "Certainly, yes. We frequently mentioned that the five players at the offense, we need multiple goals per player, in the manner we achieved last campaign."
Maresca has discovered methods to be competitive despite offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are second place for set-piece goals in the top flight, trailing by one Arsenal. In addition, the West London club are the pioneering side to have ten distinct net-finders in the first division this term.
Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?
Some Chelsea supporters feel the center-forward number - assigned to Delap in the summer - is hexed. It had been unoccupied since last year, and footballers who sported it since 2006 have found scoring difficult, including:
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in 21 appearances
- Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in fifty-eight matches
- Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in 82 appearances
- Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in 19 appearances
- Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in 72 appearances
- Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one goal in 12 games
- Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): forty-five strikes in 172 games
- Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in sixteen matches
- Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one goal in twenty-five matches
- Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - failed to score in 20 games
A central player and backline player are among those listed, and some would suggest Abraham broke the curse with his performance, while iconic forwards such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink excelled with the number nine.
But Delap was unfazed when questioned about the curse. "I'm not the type of person [who believes in curses]," he said at the global competition.
"At the end of the day it's a digit on the shirt of your uniform. It's just a number that has traditionally been associated to forwards so it's something that I like and there's zero expectation."
