🔗 Share this article

Attacker Liam Delap is coming back from a hamstring injury at a crucial moment for Chelsea.

The West London club were beaten 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on the weekend, with boss Enzo Maresca attributing "insufficient imagination" and his team's delivery being "not the best".

Chelsea's attackers are having difficulty finding the net and assists as Delap is back available in the League Cup against bottom-half Wolves on Wednesday (prime time), having missed 10 games since sustaining the injury in the 2-0 win over Fulham in the summer.

Maresca stated the young striker will be slowly integrated "gradually", and the recent acquisition's return is crucial for a side facing scrutiny over their unpredictability, which has left the domestic cups their most realistic chance of claiming silverware this term.

Delap to Take Pressure Off Joao Pedro

Chelsea signed Delap from Ipswich Town for a £30 million fee despite attention from the Red Devils, St James' Park side and Everton.

Yet the Three Lions prospect was second to £55m signing Joao Pedro in the team ranking at this global competition - and with good reason.

Joao Pedro scored three goals in three outings as Chelsea won the inaugural tournament in the USA. The Brazil striker scored another two and three assists in his opening quartet of league fixtures after moving from the Seagulls.

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

When queried about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca said: "Certainly the fitness aspect is important. When you are not 100% it's hard to perform, notably in this competition."

"Joao Pedro is not a traditional striker that is going to score 20 goals every season. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to find the net and provide assists but he's a distinctive forward to ones that score 20 to 25 goals annually like the Polish striker, the PSG forward or the City striker."

Broader Issues in Chelsea's Offense

Chelsea face wider issues beyond their attackers and Joao Pedro's goalless run.

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

Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, acquired from Borussia Dortmund for a potential £52 million deal, has no goals and one goal contribution in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m recruit from Manchester United, has a single strike in seven games and caused an own goal against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, 18, has impressed since joining from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has just two strikes and a single assist - equaling homegrown talent Tyrique George.

Forward Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have one score each.

Marc Cucurella, who scored seven from defensive position last term, is yet to find the net this term. Winger Pedro Neto has a single strike and two assists in his last two games, but prior to that got only one goal in the initial ten fixtures.

After thirteen games in all competitions no attacker has above two scores, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's joint top scorers with four strikes.

Questioned whether a absence of prolific strikers means responsibility must be shared, Maresca stated: "Certainly, yes. We repeatedly stated that the five players at the offense, we need multiple goals per player, in the way we have done last campaign."

Maresca has discovered methods to be competitive despite goal-scoring variability. Chelsea are second place for dead-ball situations in the Premier League, one less than Arsenal. In moreover, the West London club are the pioneering side to have 10 different scorers in the Premier League this term.

Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?

Some Chelsea followers believe the center-forward number - assigned to Delap in the summer - is hexed. It had been unoccupied since last year, and squad members who donned it since the mid-2000s have had goal droughts, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in 21 appearances
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - fifteen strikes in 58 appearances
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in 82 appearances
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five goals in 19 games
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 scores in seventy-two matches
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one goal in twelve matches
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 scores in 172 games
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - no goals in 16 appearances
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in twenty-five matches
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - no goals in 20 appearances

A engine room operator and defender are part of this selection, and some would argue Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his record, while iconic forwards such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the striker's jersey.

But Delap was unfazed when asked about the jinx. "I'm not the type of person [who believes in curses]," he stated at the global competition.

"At the end of the day it's a digit on the shirt of your shirt. It's just a digit that has always been related to attackers so it's something that I appreciate and there's no added burden."