Delap Back in Action as Chelsea Seek to Fix Striker Issues
Attacker Liam Delap is returning from a hamstring injury at a crucial moment for Chelsea.
The Stamford Bridge outfit lost 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with boss Enzo Maresca attributing "limited inventiveness" and his team's delivery being "not the best".
Chelsea's attackers are having difficulty finding the net and key passes as Delap returns in the Carabao Cup against lowly Wolves on Wednesday (evening kickoff), having missed 10 games since picking up the problem in the victory over Fulham in last month.
Maresca said the emerging talent will be slowly integrated "carefully", and the summer signing's comeback is crucial for a side facing scrutiny over their mixed results, which has left the national tournaments their most realistic chance of claiming silverware this campaign.
Delap to Share Load With Joao Pedro
Chelsea signed Delap from the Championship side for £30m despite pursuit by Old Trafford club, Newcastle United and the Toffees.
Yet the Three Lions prospect was behind £55m signing Joao Pedro in the team ranking at this global competition - 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 opening quartet of league fixtures after joining from Brighton.
More of late, however, Joao Pedro has been goalless in his past seven matches. Maresca revealed he is one of three squad members - along with central players Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who presently require to be "handled carefully".
When asked about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca said: "Certainly the physical part is important. When you are not fully fit it's difficult to compete, particularly in this league."
"Joao Pedro is not a traditional striker that is going to score 20 goals every season. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to get goals and create chances but he's a different kind of nine to ones that score 20 to 25 goals every season like the Bayern legend, the PSG forward or the Norwegian goal machine."
Wider Problems in Chelsea's Offense
Chelsea deal with broader problems in addition to their strikers and Joao Pedro's goalless run.
Winger Cole Palmer has completed two games all campaign and is not expected return from a groin problem until the winter.
Winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, brought in from Borussia Dortmund for a fee rising to £52m, has failed to score and one goal contribution in 10 matches. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has one goal in seven games and induced an opposition error against Benfica.
Estevao Willian, 18, has impressed since joining from Palmeiras for a fee rising to £51m, but has merely two scores and one assist - matching academy forward Tyrique George.
Attacker Marc Guiu and Brighton loanee Facundo Buonanotte have a single strike apiece.
Marc Cucurella, who notched seven from full-back last campaign, is without a goal this term. Winger Pedro Neto has one score and two assists in his previous two fixtures, but before that found the net just once in the first 10 games.
After thirteen games in various cups no striker has more than two goals, with central players Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's joint top scorers with four goals.
Asked whether a lack of natural goalscorers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca said: "Definitely, yes. We frequently mentioned that the five players at the attack, we need numerous strikes from each, in the way we have done last campaign."
Maresca has developed approaches to challenge despite offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are runner-up in set-piece goals in the English top division, one less than Arsenal. In addition, the Stamford Bridge side are the first team to have ten various goalscorers in the top flight this term.
Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?
Some Chelsea followers feel the center-forward number - assigned to Delap in the off-season - is hexed. It had been vacant since recently, and players who wore it since the mid-2000s have struggled for goals, including:
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in 21 appearances
- Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 scores in fifty-eight matches
- Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 goals in 82 appearances
- Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five goals in 19 games
- Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in seventy-two matches
- Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - a single strike in 12 appearances
- Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 goals in 172 appearances
- Franco di Santo (2008-10) - no goals in 16 games
- Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in twenty-five matches
- Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - failed to score in 20 appearances
A engine room operator and backline player are among those listed, and some would contend Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his performance, while famous attackers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thrived with nine on their back.
But Delap was unmoved when queried about the curse. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he stated at the Club World Cup.
"In the final analysis it's a digit on the shirt of your shirt. It's just a figure that has historically been connected to attackers so it's something that I enjoy and there's no pressure."
