LIAM DELAP was signed to be Chelsea’s answer to finally replace Diego Costa.
And he’s halfway there at least, because he certainly has the attitude; it’s just the goals that are lacking.
For the Spaniard, regarded as a legend at Stamford Bridge, there was a sense of ‘he can get away with murder, because he puts the ball in the back of the net’.
For Delap, however, fans are already starting to think he’s the next subject of Chelsea‘s ‘number nine curse‘.
The striker, 22, was signed from Ipswich in June for £30million, and has so far failed to justify what has become a mediocre price tag in modern football.
After scoring 12 goals in 37 Prem appearances for the Tractor Boys, the idea was that at Chelsea, Delap could improve on those numbers and help the players around him score more, too.
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He had already built relationships with Enzo Maresca at Manchester City, as well as with other Chelsea stars such as Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia, in the north, where he was trained in the City academy setup.
But so far, he has hardly even had the chance to show his skills due to injury and ill discipline, and has scored two goals in 17 games for Chelsea – neither of which were in the Premier League.
Against Bournemouth, the 22-year-old picked up what is expected to be his second long-term injury of the season.
The striker was bundled to the ground by Marcos Senesi, following a set-piece in the first half, which came as no surprise given the two had been battling it out physically already.
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Moments earlier, the Chelsea forward was lucky to escape a card after kicking out at Senesi, who had shielded the ball out of play to Delap’s frustration.
Perhaps if he could’ve controlled his temper with the Bournemouth defender, he wouldn’t have been picked on later on.
The striker left the pitch using his shirt as a sling to cope with what Maresca said was a ‘quite bad’ injury after the game.
The Chelsea boss said: “Unfortunately, he has already been out for two months, and he has to be out again.
“We don’t know for how long, but it looks quite bad, his shoulder.”
Maresca added: “He has been unlucky, and we are also unlucky because we need that kind of a No.9.”
Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua – all the info
A true Christmas miracle!
The world will stand still come December 19 as the face of British boxing Anthony Joshua is all set to go up against social media sensation Jake Paul.
AJ steps in on a month’s notice after Paul’s ‘David vs Goliath’ Gervonta Davis clash was axed due to Tank’s civil suit case.
And Joshua will be desperate not to suffer the same fate as legends Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr who both lost to YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul.
Particularly as a handsome figure was negotiated to get this Judgement Day deal over the line due to AJ’s DAZN contract.
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It seems now, with or without Delap, Chelsea’s ‘title race‘ has already been run.
And that might continue to be the case, unless they spend yet more money on another striker.
Before opting for Delap, the Blues were linked with moves for Victor Osimhen and now-Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike.
Both, based on this season, would have been smarter signings – albeit costing more.
And on the topic of strikers, Chelsea already have a new one coming in 2026 in the form of Emanuel Emegha,22, from sister club Strasbourg – but few are convinced of his credentials, despite a good goal-scoring record in Ligue 1.
At least, for Chelsea, they were able to walk away from the Vitality Stadium with a point.
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was their best player on the day, keeping them in the game with several saves to deny Antoine Semenyo and Alex Scott.
The Spaniard echoed the sentiment that if you can’t win, you at least don’t lose.
He said: “Coming from a loss in the last game, we wanted to redeem ourselves.
“We played well. We kept a clean sheet and didn’t lose the game.
“We take the point and go into the next game needing three points.
“I didn’t have much to do, I was getting a bit cold. Semenyo will get a shot off at any moment so you have to be ready, and I was.
“We know what our goal is and our quality. We have to keep going.”
