Delap Makes Comeback as The Blues Aim to Solve Attacking Problems
Attacker Liam Delap is recovering from a muscle issue at a crucial moment for Chelsea.
The Blues suffered a 2-1 defeat against shock contenders Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with manager Enzo Maresca attributing "insufficient imagination" and his team's delivery being "below standard".
Chelsea's strikers are having difficulty finding the net and key passes as Delap is back available in the EFL Cup against struggling Wolves on midweek (prime time), having sat out 10 fixtures since suffering the setback in the success over Fulham in last month.
Maresca said the 22-year-old will be slowly integrated "slowly", and the summer signing's availability is vital for a club facing criticism over their inconsistency, which has left the domestic cups their primary hope of claiming silverware this season.
Delap to Ease Burden On Joao Pedro
Chelsea acquired Delap from Ipswich Town for thirty million pounds despite pursuit by Old Trafford club, Newcastle United and the Toffees.
Yet the Three Lions prospect was below expensive recruit Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this summer's Club World Cup - and with valid cause.
Joao Pedro registered a trio of strikes in three matches as Chelsea claimed the first edition in the America. The Brazil striker notched additional strikes and three goal contributions in his opening quartet of league fixtures after arriving from Brighton.
More lately, however, Joao Pedro has failed to score in his previous seven fixtures. Maresca revealed he is one of three squad members - along with central players Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who at the moment demand to be "protected".
When queried about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca commented: "Certainly the conditioning element is important. When you are not 100% it's difficult to compete, particularly in this league."
"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to reach twenty strikes annually. Joao's a fantastic player, he's going to find the net and create chances but he's a alternative type of striker to players who get 20 to 25 goals annually like the Bayern legend, the PSG forward or the City striker."
Wider Problems in Chelsea's Offense
Chelsea deal with additional challenges apart from their strikers and Joao Pedro's scoreless streak.
Forward Cole Palmer has featured for ninety minutes twice all campaign and is not expected return from a groin injury until next month.
Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a £52m package, has no goals and a single assist in ten appearances. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m acquisition from Manchester United, has one goal in seven matches and caused an own goal against Benfica.
Estevao Willian, the teenager, has impressed since joining from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has just two strikes and one assist - equaling homegrown talent Tyrique George.
Attacker Marc Guiu and Seagulls temporary signing Facundo Buonanotte have a single strike apiece.
Marc Cucurella, who notched seven from defensive position last campaign, is still to score this term. Attacking player Pedro Neto has one score and two goal contributions in his last two games, but before that scored only once in the opening ten matches.
After thirteen fixtures in various cups no attacker has more than two goals, with central players Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's shared top goalscorers with four goals.
Asked whether a shortage of clinical finishers means duties need distributing, Maresca commented: "Definitely, yes. We said many times that the five players at the attack, we need multiple goals per player, in the way we have done last term."
Maresca has found ways to compete despite offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are runner-up in dead-ball situations in the top flight, one behind Arsenal. In moreover, the West London club are the first team to have ten various goalscorers in the Premier League this season.
Will Chelsea's Number Nine Curse Be Broken?
Some Chelsea fans think the number nine shirt - claimed by Delap in the off-season - is hexed. It had been vacant since recently, and footballers who sported it since the mid-2000s have struggled for goals, including:
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three goals in 21 games
- Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - fifteen strikes in fifty-eight matches
- Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 scores in 82 appearances
- Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in 19 appearances
- Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 scores in seventy-two matches
- Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - a single strike in 12 appearances
- Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): forty-five strikes in one hundred seventy-two matches
- Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in 16 games
- Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one goal in 25 appearances
- Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - zero strikes in 20 appearances
A central player and defensive specialist are part of this selection, and some would contend Abraham ended the jinx with his record, while legendary strikers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the number nine.
But Delap was unmoved when queried about the hoodoo. "I'm not the type of person [who believes in curses]," he said at the Club World Cup.
"In the final analysis it's a digit on the shirt of your shirt. It's just a digit that has always been related to forwards so it's something that I appreciate and there's no added burden."