Delap Returns as Chelsea Seek to Fix Attacking Problems
Forward Liam Delap is coming back from a muscle issue at a crucial moment for Chelsea.
The West London club suffered a 2-1 defeat against shock contenders Sunderland at their home ground on the weekend, with manager Enzo Maresca blaming "limited inventiveness" and his side's crossing being "not the best".
Chelsea's strikers are struggling for goals and goal contributions as Delap is back available in the League Cup against lowly Wolves on Wednesday (prime time), having sat out 10 fixtures since suffering the setback in the success over Fulham in the summer.
Maresca said the 22-year-old will be phased in "slowly", and the summer signing's availability is vital for a team facing scrutiny over their inconsistency, which has left the national tournaments their best opportunity of securing honors this campaign.
Delap to Ease Burden On Joao Pedro
Chelsea signed Delap from Ipswich Town for thirty million pounds despite pursuit by Old Trafford club, the Magpies and Everton.
Yet the Three Lions prospect was second to expensive recruit Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this summer's Club World Cup - and with solid justification.
Joao Pedro registered a trio of strikes in three outings as Chelsea claimed the first edition in the USA. The Brazil striker scored another two and three assists in his opening quartet of league fixtures after moving from the Seagulls.
More recently, however, Joao Pedro has failed to score in his previous seven fixtures. Maresca revealed he is one of a trio of players - along with engine room operators Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who presently require to be "shielded".
When asked about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca remarked: "For sure the conditioning element is important. When you are not at peak condition it's challenging to excel, especially in this competition."
"Joao Pedro is not a classic center-forward that is going to net twenty times every season. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to find the net and give assists but he's a alternative type of striker to ones that score 20 to 25 goals annually like [Robert] Lewandowski, the PSG forward or the City striker."
Broader Issues in Chelsea's Attack
Chelsea confront wider issues beyond their strikers and Joao Pedro's goalless run.
Forward Cole Palmer has featured for ninety minutes twice all term and is not expected return from a lower body issue until the winter.
Winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, acquired from Borussia Dortmund for a £52m package, has zero strikes and a single assist in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has one score in seven matches and caused an own goal against Benfica.
Estevao Willian, eighteen, has entertained since joining from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has only two goals and one setup - equaling youth product Tyrique George.
Attacker Marc Guiu and Seagulls temporary signing Facundo Buonanotte have one score each.
Marc Cucurella, who got seven from full-back last season, is yet to find the net this campaign. Wide man Pedro Neto has one score and two assists in his previous two fixtures, but prior to that scored only once in the first 10 games.
After thirteen games in various cups no striker has above two scores, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's equal leading marksmen with four.
Queried whether a absence of prolific strikers means duties need distributing, Maresca commented: "Definitely, yes. We said many times that the five players at the offense, we need multiple goals per player, in the manner we achieved last term."
Maresca has discovered methods to compete despite offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are second place for dead-ball situations in the Premier League, one behind Arsenal. In furthermore, the Stamford Bridge side are the first team to have 10 different scorers in the first division this campaign.
Is the Number Nine Hoodoo About to Lift?
Some Chelsea fans think the center-forward number - taken by Delap in the off-season - is jinxed. It had been available since last year, and players who sported it since the mid-2000s have struggled for goals, including:
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in twenty-one matches
- Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - fifteen strikes in 58 appearances
- Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in 82 appearances
- Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in nineteen matches
- Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in 72 appearances
- Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - a single strike in 12 games
- Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 scores in one hundred seventy-two matches
- Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in sixteen matches
- Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in 25 appearances
- Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - failed to score in twenty matches
A central player and backline player are included in this group, and some would contend Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his performance, while legendary strikers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink excelled with the number nine.
But Delap was unmoved when queried about the hoodoo. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he said at the international tournament.
"Ultimately it's a digit on the shirt of your kit. It's just a number that has traditionally been associated to strikers so it's something that I enjoy and there's zero expectation."