Delap Back in Action as The Blues Aim to Solve Attacking Problems
Forward Liam Delap is coming back from a hamstring injury at a important period for Chelsea.
The Blues lost 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on recently, with head coach Enzo Maresca attributing "insufficient imagination" and his team's delivery being "subpar".
Chelsea's forwards are struggling for goals and assists as Delap makes his comeback in the EFL Cup against bottom-half Wolves on this week (prime time), having been absent for 10 matches since picking up the problem in the success over Fulham in August.
Maresca commented the 22-year-old will be slowly integrated "carefully", and the summer signing's return is crucial for a team facing criticism over their inconsistency, which has left the domestic cups their most realistic chance of claiming silverware this season.
Delap to Take Pressure Off Joao Pedro
Chelsea acquired Delap from the Tractor Boys for £30m despite attention from Old Trafford club, the Magpies and Everton.
Yet the Three Lions prospect was below £55 million acquisition Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this recent international tournament - and with valid cause.
Joao Pedro found the net three times in three matches as Chelsea claimed the first edition in the United States. The Brazilian forward added two more goals and three assists in his opening quartet of league fixtures after moving from the Seagulls.
More lately, however, Joao Pedro has not scored in his past seven matches. Maresca said 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 asked about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca said: "Certainly the conditioning element is crucial. When you are not 100% it's difficult to compete, notably in this league."
"Joao Pedro is not a classic center-forward that is going to net twenty times annually. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to get goals and create chances but he's a different kind of nine to players who get 20 to 25 goals every season like [Robert] Lewandowski, the French superstar or [Erling] Haaland."
Broader Issues in Chelsea's Offense
Chelsea confront wider issues beyond their forwards and Joao Pedro's drought.
Attacker Cole Palmer has played two full matches all campaign and is unlikely to be back from a groin injury until next month.
Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, brought in from Borussia Dortmund for a fee rising to £52m, has zero strikes and one assist in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has one goal in seven outings and forced an own goal against Benfica.
Estevao Willian, the teenager, has shown promise since arriving from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has merely two scores and one assist - equaling homegrown talent Tyrique George.
Striker Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have one score each.
Marc Cucurella, who notched seven from left-back last campaign, is still to score this campaign. Wide man Pedro Neto has a single strike and two assists in his last two games, but earlier got only one goal in the first 10 games.
After 13 matches in various cups no forward has more than two goals, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's joint top scorers with four goals.
Asked whether a absence of prolific strikers means duties need distributing, Maresca commented: "Definitely, yes. We repeatedly stated that the front five at the attack, we need multiple goals per player, in the manner we achieved last campaign."
Maresca has discovered methods to compete despite goal-scoring variability. Chelsea are second for set-piece goals in the Premier League, one behind Arsenal. In moreover, the Blues are the first team to have 10 different scorers in the first division this term.
Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?
Some Chelsea fans believe the striker's jersey - assigned to Delap in the off-season - is hexed. It had been unoccupied since last year, and footballers who donned it since 2006 have struggled for goals, including:
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three goals in 21 games
- Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 scores in fifty-eight matches
- Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in 82 games
- Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in 19 games
- Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 scores in 72 appearances
- Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one score in twelve matches
- Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 goals in 172 games
- Franco di Santo (2008-10) - failed to score in sixteen matches
- Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in twenty-five matches
- Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - zero strikes in twenty matches
A engine room operator and defender are among those listed, and some would contend Abraham broke the curse with his achievement, while famous attackers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the number nine.
But Delap was unconcerned when queried about the curse. "I'm not one [who believes in curses]," he said at the Club World Cup.
"Ultimately it's a digit on the shirt of your uniform. It's just a figure that has historically been connected to attackers so it's something that I enjoy and there's zero expectation."
