Joining from relegated Ipswich Town for a reported £30 million, Delap took Chelsea’s seemingly cursed number nine shirt, hoping to do better than the likes of Pato, Gonzalo Higuain, and Falcao all those years ago.
After initially impressing at the Club World Cup, the 22-year-old is yet to score a single Premier League goal, with his only goal of the campaign coming in their 3-0 Champions League win over an already beaten Barcelona side.
Chelsea’s lack of a top-quality striker could be the difference between qualifying for the Champions League or not. With the man they signed to be just that yet to get going, is it time for Enzo Maresca’s side to start worrying?
What type of player is Liam Delap?
Playing for a side that has just been promoted to the Premier League is no easy task for any striker. Last season Delap 33 per cent of Ipswich’s league goals and was often tasked with forging his own chances due to limited support from teammates.
Delap did well playing in a counter attacking side, he’s an aggressive runner and he ended up with ten non penalty goals, averaging a goal very three games, which is a pretty respectable return.
He’s a bit of a throwback striker, more than capable of standing up and wrestling with defenders, but on the other hand, it’s clear to see that he came through Man City’s academy, where he learned how to play ‘the right way.’
His range of finishes while at Ipswich was what set him apart. Whether he absolutely smashed it or scored with a deft touch, he has it all in his locker. When he gets the ball, he only has one thing on his mind, driving forward and trying to score.
Why isn’t it working at Chelsea?
Delap is great against side’s that play a high line, that’s one of the reasons he scored against Barcelona. His driving runs combined with some really impressive positional awareness make him perfect for a side that plays more counter attacking football.
Last season, Ipswich averaged 40% possession, the lowest in the Premier League, while Chelsea have the ball more often than not sitting third in the league for possession, averaging 58.7%. Maresca’s side actually struggle when facing teams that play a low block, hence why they’ve lost to Sunderland and Leeds already.
So, as a result, Delap has been forced to operate more as a target man, which he’s not. Delap is certainly a physical striker, he has no trouble making a nuisance of himself, but playing with his back to goal is not what he does best.
A pass accuracy of 66.67% from 12.7 passes per 90 is poor for a striker expected to connect play. For comparison, fellow summer signing Joao Pedro has recorded 79.77% pass accuracy from 27 passes per 90.
Now, Pedro’s numbers will be a little higher because he has often played as a number ten, but he is clearly better at linking up with his teammates than Delap, which is a real concern for the Englishman.
An unfortunate injury and a daft red card
For the sake of balance, it isn’t entirely Delap’s fault. Chelsea’s lack of a substantial enough pre-season seriously hindered any chance for him to build a rapport with his teammates, and that was made even worse just a few games into the season.
Delap looked good in the 5-1 win over West Ham, even if he didn’t score, but a serious hamstring injury in 2-0 win over Fulham in the next game meant he was sidelined for two months, just when he was starting to get going.
Now this part is his fault. Delap made his much-anticipated return in the 4-3 Carabao Cup win over Wolves, replacing Estevao in the 60th minute. The game was perfectly set up for him to make a positive impact, but instead he got a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Wolves defender Emmanuel Agbadou.
Again, he was forced to watch on from the sidelines rather than build relationships with his teammates in high-pressure on pitch scenarios.
Verdict
It’s unlikely that any Chelsea fan or even staff thought that Delap would be getting 30 goals a season, but they would have expected more from him than one goal in ten games, and little else to show he’s capable of leading the line for a top side.
Still, it’s early days for Delap at Chelsea. We don’t think there is any reason to be worried just yet, but if he doesn’t break double figures in terms of goals come the end of the season, that’s a different conversation.