Delap Returns as Stamford Bridge Side Look to Address Forward Concerns
Forward Liam Delap is returning from a muscle issue at a time of need for Chelsea.
The West London club were beaten 2-1 against shock contenders Sunderland at their stadium on Saturday, with manager Enzo Maresca citing "insufficient imagination" and his team's delivery being "subpar".
Chelsea's strikers are having difficulty finding the net and goal contributions as Delap returns in the Carabao Cup against struggling Wolves on Wednesday (19:45 GMT), having sat out 10 fixtures since sustaining the injury in the success over Fulham in last month.
Maresca commented the emerging talent will be gradually introduced "slowly", and the summer signing's comeback is vital for a side facing criticism over their inconsistency, which has left the national tournaments their best opportunity of securing honors this campaign.
Delap to Share Load With Joao Pedro
Chelsea signed Delap from Ipswich Town for £30m despite interest from Old Trafford club, St James' Park side and Goodison Park team.
Yet the England Under-21s forward was behind £55m signing Joao Pedro in the selection hierarchy at this summer's Club World Cup - and with good reason.
Joao Pedro found the net three times in three appearances as Chelsea won the inaugural tournament in the USA. The Brazil striker added two more goals and three assists in his first four Premier League games after joining from Brighton.
More recently, however, Joao Pedro has failed to score in his previous seven fixtures. Maresca stated he is one of a trio of players - along with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who presently require to be "shielded".
When queried about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca remarked: "For sure the conditioning element is crucial. When you are not 100% it's challenging to excel, especially in this competition."
"Joao Pedro is not a traditional striker that is going to net twenty times each year. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to find the net and give assists but he's a alternative type of striker to players who get 20 to 25 goals annually like [Robert] Lewandowski, [Kylian] Mbappe or the Norwegian goal machine."
Additional Concerns in Chelsea's Forward Line
Chelsea deal with wider issues apart from their attackers and Joao Pedro's drought.
Forward Cole Palmer has completed two games all campaign and is not anticipated to feature from a groin injury until the winter.
Winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, brought in from Borussia Dortmund for a potential £52 million deal, has zero strikes and one goal contribution in ten appearances. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m recruit from Manchester United, has one score in seven games and induced an opposition error against Benfica.
Estevao Willian, eighteen, has shown promise since joining from Palmeiras for a £51m package, but has just two strikes and one setup - paralleling homegrown talent Tyrique George.
Forward Marc Guiu and Seagulls temporary signing Facundo Buonanotte have one goal each.
Marc Cucurella, who scored seven from full-back last campaign, is without a goal this season. Attacking player Pedro Neto has one score and two assists in his past two matches, but prior to that got only one goal in the first 10 games.
After 13 matches in every tournament no forward has more than two goals, with central players Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's shared top goalscorers with four.
Queried whether a absence of prolific strikers means duties need distributing, Maresca said: "Certainly, yes. We repeatedly stated that the quintet of attackers at the front, we need multiple goals per player, in the manner we achieved last campaign."
Maresca has developed approaches to compete despite offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are runner-up in dead-ball situations in the Premier League, trailing by one Arsenal. In moreover, the Blues are the first team to have ten distinct net-finders in the Premier League this season.
Is the Number Nine Hoodoo About to Lift?
Some Chelsea supporters feel the striker's jersey - claimed by Delap in the off-season - is cursed. It had been vacant since recently, and footballers who sported it since 2006 have found scoring difficult, including:
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in twenty-one matches
- Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - fifteen strikes in 58 games
- Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 goals in 82 games
- Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five goals in 19 games
- Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in seventy-two matches
- Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one score in 12 appearances
- Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 scores in 172 appearances
- Franco di Santo (2008-10) - failed to score in sixteen matches
- Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - a single strike 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 ended the jinx with his achievement, while iconic forwards such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the number nine.
But Delap was unfazed when queried about the curse. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he said at the Club World Cup.
"At the end of the day it's a figure on the jersey of your kit. It's just a number that has traditionally been associated to forwards so it's something that I like and there's no pressure."
