Delap Back in Action as The Blues Aim to Solve Attacking Problems
Forward Liam Delap is recovering from a muscle issue at a time of need for Chelsea.
The West London club lost 2-1 against surprise package 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 forwards are finding it hard to score and key passes as Delap is back available in the Carabao Cup against lowly Wolves on Wednesday (prime time), having missed 10 games since picking up the problem in the victory over Fulham in last month.
Maresca commented the 22-year-old will be slowly integrated "gradually", and the new recruit's comeback is crucial for a team facing criticism over their inconsistency, which has left the national tournaments their most realistic chance of winning a trophy this season.
Delap to Share Load With Joao Pedro
Chelsea signed Delap from the Championship side for £30m despite attention from Old Trafford club, Newcastle United and Everton.
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 scored three goals in three outings as Chelsea claimed the first edition in the United States. The Brazil striker notched additional strikes and three setups in his first four Premier League games after joining from Brighton.
More lately, however, Joao Pedro has failed to score in his last seven games. Maresca said he is one of a trio of players - along with central players Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who at the moment demand to be "handled carefully".
When queried about Joao Pedro's dip in form, Maresca said: "For sure the conditioning element is important. When you are not 100% it's challenging to excel, particularly in this division."
"Joao Pedro is not a classic center-forward that is going to net twenty times each year. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to get goals and create chances but he's a distinctive forward to players who get 20 to 25 goals each year like the Bayern legend, the French superstar or the Norwegian goal machine."
Wider Problems in Chelsea's Offense
Chelsea confront wider issues apart from their strikers and Joao Pedro's drought.
Winger Cole Palmer has featured for ninety minutes twice all season and is unlikely to be back from a groin problem until next month.
Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, brought in from Borussia Dortmund for a potential £52 million deal, has zero strikes and one assist in ten appearances. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m acquisition from Manchester United, has a single strike in seven games and caused an own goal against Benfica.
Estevao Willian, the teenager, has entertained since arriving from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has just two strikes and a single assist - paralleling homegrown talent Tyrique George.
Attacker Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have a single strike apiece.
Marc Cucurella, who got seven from left-back last term, is without a goal this campaign. Winger Pedro Neto has one score and two setups in his past two matches, but before that scored only once in the initial ten fixtures.
After 13 matches in various cups no forward has over two strikes, with midfielders Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's joint top scorers with four.
Asked whether a shortage of clinical finishers means duties need distributing, Maresca commented: "Absolutely, yes. We said many times that the quintet of attackers at the front, we need multiple goals per player, in the way we have done last term."
Maresca has developed approaches to compete despite attacking inconsistency. Chelsea are second for free-kick and corner scores in the Premier League, one less than Arsenal. In furthermore, the Blues are the initial club to have 10 different scorers in the Premier League this term.
Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?
Some Chelsea supporters feel the striker's jersey - taken by Delap in the summer - is jinxed. It had been unoccupied since 2023, and players who wore it since the mid-2000s have found scoring difficult, including:
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three strikes 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 scores in 19 games
- Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in 72 games
- Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one score in 12 appearances
- Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 scores in one hundred seventy-two matches
- 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 appearances
A central player and defensive specialist are part of this selection, and some would suggest Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his record, while famous attackers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the striker's jersey.
But Delap was unmoved when questioned about the curse. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he commented at the Club World Cup.
"In the final analysis it's a number on the back of your uniform. It's just a figure that has always been related to strikers so it's something that I appreciate and there's no pressure."