Delap Makes Comeback as Chelsea Aim to Solve Striker Issues

Attacker Liam Delap is coming back from a thigh problem at a crucial moment for Chelsea.

The Stamford Bridge outfit lost 2-1 against surprise package Sunderland at their stadium on recently, with head coach Enzo Maresca citing "insufficient imagination" and his side's crossing being "subpar".

Chelsea's forwards are having difficulty finding the net and assists as Delap is back available in the EFL Cup against bottom-half Wolves on this week (19:45 GMT), having been absent for 10 matches since sustaining the injury in the 2-0 win over Fulham in last month.

Maresca commented the young striker will be phased in "slowly", and the new recruit's comeback is important for a team facing criticism over their mixed results, which has left the national tournaments their primary hope of securing honors this season.

Delap to Take Pressure Off Joao Pedro

Chelsea signed Delap from Ipswich Town for thirty million pounds despite attention from the Red Devils, St James' Park side and Everton.

Yet the young English striker was below £55 million acquisition Joao Pedro in the team ranking at this recent international tournament - and with valid cause.

Joao Pedro registered a trio of strikes in three matches as Chelsea secured the maiden title in the USA. The Seleção attacker added two more goals and three assists in his opening quartet of league fixtures after arriving from Brighton.

More recently, however, Joao Pedro has not scored in his past seven matches. Maresca said he is one of three players - along with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who presently require to be "shielded".

When queried about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca said: "For sure the conditioning element is important. When you are not fully fit it's difficult to compete, particularly in this league."

"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to net twenty times every season. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to get goals and provide assists but he's a alternative type of striker to players who get 20 to 25 goals annually like [Robert] Lewandowski, the PSG forward or the City striker."

Additional Concerns in Chelsea's Attack

Chelsea face additional challenges apart from their attackers and Joao Pedro's scoreless streak.

Winger Cole Palmer has featured for ninety minutes twice all season and is not expected return from a groin problem until December.

Wide player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, acquired from Borussia Dortmund for a fee rising to £52m, has zero strikes and one assist in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m recruit from Manchester United, has one goal in seven games and caused an own goal against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, eighteen, has entertained since joining from Palmeiras for a fee rising to £51m, but has merely two scores and one setup - matching homegrown talent Tyrique George.

Forward Marc Guiu and Brighton loanee Facundo Buonanotte have one score each.

Marc Cucurella, who notched seven from full-back last campaign, is yet to find the net this season. Wide man Pedro Neto has one score and two goal contributions in his last two games, but before that found the net just once in the initial ten fixtures.

After 13 matches in various cups no attacker has above two scores, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's joint top scorers with four.

Asked whether a absence of prolific strikers means duties need distributing, Maresca said: "Definitely, yes. We repeatedly stated that the front five at the front, we need six, seven, eight, nine, 10 goals each, in the fashion we managed last term."

Maresca has developed approaches to challenge despite offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are runner-up in set-piece goals in the Premier League, one less than Arsenal. In furthermore, the Stamford Bridge side are the first team to have ten distinct net-finders in the Premier League this campaign.

Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?

Some Chelsea supporters think the number nine shirt - assigned to Delap in the summer - is hexed. It had been vacant since 2023, and squad members who donned it since 2006 have struggled for goals, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in twenty-one matches
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 scores in 58 games
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in 82 appearances
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in nineteen matches
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 goals in 72 appearances
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one score in 12 games
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 scores in 172 appearances
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - no goals in 16 appearances
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - a single strike in twenty-five matches
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - zero strikes in 20 appearances

A midfielder and backline player are included in this group, and some would suggest Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his achievement, while famous attackers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink excelled with the striker's jersey.

But Delap was unconcerned when questioned about the jinx. "I'm not the type of person [who believes in curses]," he stated at the Club World Cup.

"In the final analysis it's a number on the back of your kit. It's just a digit that has historically been connected to strikers so it's something that I enjoy and there's zero expectation."