🔗 Share this article

Forward Liam Delap is coming back from a hamstring injury at a important period for Chelsea.

The West London club lost 2-1 against surprise package Sunderland at their stadium on the weekend, with boss Enzo Maresca citing "insufficient imagination" and his team's delivery being "subpar".

Chelsea's forwards are having difficulty finding the net and goal contributions as Delap is back available in the Carabao Cup against bottom-half Wolves on Wednesday (evening kickoff), having sat out 10 fixtures since suffering the setback in the success over Fulham in last month.

Maresca stated the young striker will be phased in "carefully", and the summer signing's comeback is crucial for a club facing questions over their mixed results, which has left the domestic cups their primary hope of winning a trophy this campaign.

Delap to Take Pressure Off Joao Pedro

Chelsea brought in Delap from the Championship side for a £30 million fee despite pursuit by Manchester United, Newcastle United and Everton.

Yet the Three Lions prospect was below expensive recruit Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this global competition - and with solid justification.

Joao Pedro found the net three times in three outings as Chelsea claimed the first edition in the United States. The Seleção attacker notched additional strikes and three assists in his initial four top-flight matches after joining from Brighton.

More lately, however, Joao Pedro has been goalless in his previous seven fixtures. Maresca stated he is one of a trio of players - along with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who currently need to be "handled carefully".

When queried about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca commented: "Definitely the fitness aspect is important. When you are not at peak condition it's difficult to compete, notably in this league."

"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to score 20 goals annually. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to score and give assists but he's a different kind of nine to ones that score 20 to 25 goals each year like the Polish striker, [Kylian] Mbappe or the Norwegian goal machine."

Broader Issues in Chelsea's Offense

Chelsea face broader problems apart from their forwards and Joao Pedro's goalless run.

Attacker Cole Palmer has completed two games all season and is not anticipated to feature from a lower body issue until the winter.

Wide player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a fee rising to £52m, has no goals and one goal contribution in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has one goal in seven matches and forced an own goal against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, eighteen, has impressed since arriving from Palmeiras for a £51m package, but has just two strikes and one assist - paralleling youth product Tyrique George.

Forward Marc Guiu and Seagulls temporary signing Facundo Buonanotte have a single strike apiece.

Marc Cucurella, who scored seven from left-back last campaign, is still to score this season. Winger Pedro Neto has a single strike and two setups in his past two matches, but earlier scored only once in the opening ten matches.

After thirteen games in various cups no attacker has more than two goals, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's shared top goalscorers with four goals.

Questioned whether a shortage of clinical finishers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca stated: "Absolutely, yes. We said many times that the quintet of attackers at the offense, we need numerous strikes from each, in the manner we achieved last term."

Maresca has discovered methods to challenge despite goal-scoring variability. Chelsea are second for free-kick and corner scores in the English top division, one behind Arsenal. In moreover, the West London club are the first team to have ten various goalscorers in the Premier League this season.

Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?

Some Chelsea fans feel the number nine shirt - taken by Delap in the transfer window - is cursed. It had been unoccupied since 2023, and footballers who wore it since 2006 have found scoring difficult, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in twenty-one matches
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - fifteen strikes in 58 appearances
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 scores in 82 games
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in nineteen matches
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 scores in 72 appearances
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one goal in 12 games
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 goals in one hundred seventy-two matches
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in 16 appearances
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in twenty-five matches
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - failed to score in 20 games

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

But Delap was unconcerned when queried about the jinx. "I'm not the type of person [who believes in curses]," he stated at the international tournament.

"Ultimately it's a digit on the shirt of your shirt. It's just a number that has always been related to forwards so it's something that I like and there's zero expectation."