Delap Returns as Stamford Bridge Side Aim to Solve Attacking Problems
Forward Liam Delap is recovering from a thigh problem at a crucial moment for Chelsea.
The Blues lost 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with manager Enzo Maresca blaming "insufficient imagination" and his squad's passes being "subpar".
Chelsea's forwards are having difficulty finding the net and key passes as Delap is back available in the League Cup against bottom-half Wolves on midweek (evening kickoff), having been absent for 10 matches since picking up the problem in the victory over Fulham in last month.
Maresca commented the 22-year-old will be phased in "slowly", and the summer signing's availability is vital for a team facing scrutiny over their mixed results, which has left the cup competitions their primary hope of claiming silverware this season.
Delap to Share Load With Joao Pedro
Chelsea signed Delap from the Championship side for thirty million pounds despite attention from Manchester United, St James' Park side and Goodison Park team.
Yet the young English striker was below £55 million acquisition Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this global competition - and with good reason.
Joao Pedro scored three goals in three outings as Chelsea secured the maiden title in the America. The Brazil striker added two more goals and three assists in his initial four top-flight matches after moving from the Seagulls.
More recently, however, Joao Pedro has failed to score in his past seven matches. Maresca stated he is one of a trio of players - along with engine room operators Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who at the moment demand to be "shielded".
When queried about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca remarked: "For sure the conditioning element is vital. When you are not 100% it's hard to perform, particularly in this competition."
"Joao Pedro is not a traditional striker that is going to net twenty times annually. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to score and give assists but he's a distinctive forward to players who get 20 to 25 goals each year like [Robert] Lewandowski, the French superstar or the City striker."
Wider Problems in Chelsea's Offense
Chelsea confront additional challenges beyond their attackers and Joao Pedro's drought.
Attacker Cole Palmer has completed two games all season and is unlikely to be back from a groin injury until the winter.
Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a £52m package, has zero strikes and one assist in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has one score in seven matches and forced an own goal against Benfica.
Estevao Willian, the teenager, has entertained since joining from Palmeiras for a £51m package, but has just two strikes and one setup - equaling homegrown talent Tyrique George.
Striker Marc Guiu and Brighton loanee Facundo Buonanotte have a single strike apiece.
Marc Cucurella, who got seven from left-back last campaign, is without a goal this campaign. Wide man Pedro Neto has one score and two setups in his previous two fixtures, but prior to that got only one goal in the opening ten matches.
After thirteen fixtures in all competitions no forward has above two scores, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's shared top goalscorers with four.
Questioned whether a lack of natural goalscorers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca said: "Certainly, yes. We repeatedly stated that the quintet of attackers at the front, we need six, seven, eight, nine, 10 goals each, in the way we have done last season."
Maresca has developed approaches to challenge despite goal-scoring variability. Chelsea are runner-up in dead-ball situations in the top flight, one behind Arsenal. In furthermore, the Stamford Bridge side are the first team to have ten various goalscorers in the top flight this campaign.
Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?
Some Chelsea supporters believe the striker's jersey - taken by Delap in the summer - is hexed. It had been available since recently, and players who donned it since 2006 have struggled for goals, including:
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three strikes in 21 games
- Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 scores in 58 games
- Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 scores in eighty-two matches
- Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five goals in nineteen matches
- Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in seventy-two matches
- Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one goal in twelve matches
- Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 scores in 172 appearances
- Franco di Santo (2008-10) - no goals in sixteen matches
- Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in 25 appearances
- Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - no goals in 20 games
A engine room operator and backline player are part of this selection, and some would argue Abraham ended the jinx with his achievement, while iconic forwards such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thrived with the striker's jersey.
But Delap was unmoved when asked about the jinx. "I'm not one [who believes in curses]," he commented at the Club World Cup.
"At the end of the day it's a number on the back of your shirt. It's just a figure that has historically been connected to forwards so it's something that I like and there's no pressure."