🔗 Share this article

Attacker Liam Delap is recovering from a muscle issue at a important period for Chelsea.

The West London club lost 2-1 against shock contenders Sunderland at their stadium on the weekend, with boss Enzo Maresca blaming "limited inventiveness" and his squad's passes being "not the best".

Chelsea's strikers are finding it hard to score and key passes as Delap is back available in the League Cup against lowly Wolves on midweek (prime time), having been absent for 10 matches since sustaining the injury in the victory over Fulham in August.

Maresca commented the 22-year-old will be slowly integrated "gradually", and the new recruit's return is vital for a side facing criticism over their mixed results, which has left the domestic cups their most realistic chance of claiming silverware this term.

Delap to Ease Burden On Joao Pedro

Chelsea brought in Delap from Ipswich Town for thirty million pounds despite attention from Manchester United, Newcastle United and the Toffees.

Yet the young English striker was second to £55m signing Joao Pedro in the selection hierarchy at this global competition - and with valid cause.

Joao Pedro found the net three times in three matches as Chelsea secured the maiden title in the United States. The Brazilian forward scored another two and three assists in his first four Premier League games after joining from Brighton.

More lately, however, Joao Pedro has failed to score in his previous seven fixtures. Maresca said he is one of a trio of players - along with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who presently require to be "protected".

When queried about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca commented: "For sure the physical part is important. When you are not fully fit it's challenging to excel, notably in this competition."

"Joao Pedro is not a traditional striker that is going to net twenty times each year. Joao's a fantastic player, he's going to score and create chances but he's a different kind of nine to ones that score 20 to 25 goals annually like [Robert] Lewandowski, the PSG forward or the Norwegian goal machine."

Broader Issues in Chelsea's Forward Line

Chelsea confront broader problems beyond their strikers and Joao Pedro's drought.

Winger Cole Palmer has completed two games all season and is not anticipated to feature from a groin problem until next month.

Wide player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a fee rising to £52m, has failed to score and one goal contribution in 10 matches. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m acquisition from Manchester United, has one score in seven matches and caused an own goal against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, the teenager, has entertained since arriving from Palmeiras for a £51m package, but has just two strikes and one setup - paralleling academy forward Tyrique George.

Striker Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have a single strike apiece.

Marc Cucurella, who got seven from left-back last season, is still to score this campaign. Wide man Pedro Neto has one score and two assists in his previous two fixtures, but prior to that scored only once in the first 10 games.

After 13 matches in various cups no striker has over two strikes, with midfielders Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's joint top scorers with four strikes.

Queried whether a absence of prolific strikers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca said: "Definitely, yes. We repeatedly stated that the five players at the front, we need six, seven, eight, nine, 10 goals each, in the way we have done last season."

Maresca has found ways to be competitive despite attacking inconsistency. Chelsea are second for set-piece goals in the top flight, one behind Arsenal. In addition, the Stamford Bridge side are the first team to have 10 different scorers in the first division this campaign.

Is the Number Nine Hoodoo About to Lift?

Some Chelsea fans believe the striker's jersey - taken by Delap in the transfer window - is jinxed. It had been unoccupied since 2023, and squad members who sported it since the mid-2000s have struggled for goals, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three goals in 21 appearances
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 scores in 58 games
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in eighty-two matches
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five goals in 19 games
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in 72 games
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - a single strike in 12 appearances
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 goals in one hundred seventy-two matches
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in sixteen matches
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in 25 games
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - no goals in 20 games

A central player and defender are part of this selection, and some would suggest Abraham ended the jinx with his record, while legendary strikers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thrived with the striker's jersey.

But Delap was unfazed when asked about the curse. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he stated at the Club World Cup.

"In the final analysis it's a figure on the jersey of your uniform. It's just a number that has traditionally been associated to forwards so it's something that I like and there's zero expectation."