Chelsea strikers issues are once again under the limelight with the reappearance of Liam Delap after several months of injury at a time when the Blues are in dire need of goals. Following a frustrating 2 goals to 1 loss to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge manager Enzo Maresca blamed a lack of creativity in his team coupled with poor crossing which has dogged the team throughout the season. As the forward players fail to perform and the results have been all the more erratic the introduction of Delap to the Carabao Cup match against Wolves could not have been much better timed.

Striker who is 22 years old, having paid 30 million to Ipswich Town in the summer, has been out with a hamstring injury that he suffered when playing in the 2-0 victory over Fulham in August. His return provides some hope of a comeback to a side that is finding it especially hard to get its act together in the last third of the season and with the domestic cups being the only real prospect of a trophy cup in the hands of Chelsea, Maresca realizes that timing is of the essence.

Maresca clarified that the reentry of Delap would be done on a gradual basis. The Italian coach has been wise in his rotation of players and usually prioritized player fitness as compared to quick fix. Nonetheless, he still understands the importance of a natural striker being back in the competition. The goal output of the attack contributed little to the output and the confidence is lacking as well as Joao Pedro who is the PS55 million summer addition of Brighton is suffering a serious goal shortage.

The presence of Delap will help take off some of that burden on Pedro who began the season well with five goals and three assists in competitions including his star performance in the Club World Cup. Nevertheless he has not registered whatsoever during his last seven games which makes Maresca call upon him one among three players who require being sheltered. Together with a pair of midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, Pedro has suffered a poor performance, which shows the impact of tiredness and lack of regularity in the busy Chelsea timetable.

It is hard to play when you are not 100 per cent and you are in this league, that is all Maresca. Joao Pedro is not a number nine who would give 20 goals annually. He is an excellent player, however, a striker of a different type than one would be Lewandowski or Haaland.

Nonetheless, the issues in the club of Chelsea have way more than Joao Pedro. Attacking activity of the club in the frontline has been disastrously low. No forward has made more than two goals in all competitions since 13 matches have been attended. Rather, the goals are driven by midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo who have four goals each in scoring and this is a statistic that can summarize the overall offensive limitations of the team.

Cole Palmer the prospective star performer, has been unable to make three full appearances all this season because of a groin injury and is not likely to be available again until December. Another costly Borussia Dortmund acquisition Jamie Bynoe-Gittens has only recorded one assist in the ten games. It is the same with Alejandro Garnacho, Estevao Willian, and even Brighton loanee Facundo Buonanotte all of them providing glimpses of quality but not really posting the required consistency in the figures.

Maresca admitted that one had to share a responsibility throughout the whole front line. It has to be six, seven, eight, nine and ten goals by our five attacking players, said he. That is how we were able to achieve the previous season levels of success, not because we would depend on a single player to do so.

Maresca has also still managed to find tactical means of making Chelsea competitive. The Blues have been second in the premier league when it comes to the goals scored in set play second only to Arsenal. They also became the first club of the season to have 10 goal scorers in the league who had different names; a factor that although they do not have a prolific goal scorer, they have still been efficient in the forward line.

At last the discussion will turn to the so-called number nine curse of Chelsea, famous bad omen haunting the strikers of this club over the past 20 some years. Since 2006, the shirt has been donned by a list of big names who did not live up to their expectations, including Fernando Torres and Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Even Tammy Abraham, who had a fairly successful time, was not able to disrupt the narrative entirely.

However, Liam Delap does not seem concerned. He dismissed any idea of bad luck when questioned of curse in the Club World Cup. I am not the kind of person that believes in curses he said confidently. It is nothing more than a number at the back of your shirt. I like it and it is not pressurized.

Such a psychological power could be a much needed thing in Chelsea at the moment. Delap is indeed physical, uses his movement and insistence in coming forward to bring a different dimension to the system used by Maresca. His arrival will enable Joao Pedro to play a little deeper or wider to play, not bearing the entire scoring load.

The Wolves game as Chelsea go to play in the Carabao Cup is a risk as well as an opportunity. A loss would increase the question on how Maresca had been implementing his tactics and recruitment strategy, whereas a triumph, which would hopefully have been informed by the comeback of Delap, would rekindle confidence in the project.

Liam Delap coming back is not simply the termination of an injury-freudal leave but a sign of hope that literally resetting a Chelsea a team that is difficult to find its mojo in attacking. The issues of the striker in the club will not disappear in a day but with the energy and hunger of Delap finally Maresca has another possible player to play in the frontline. Still, we will have to wait to see whether he has the ability to assist in overcoming the long standing striker misfortunes of Chelsea, but the arrival of the striker would be the beginning of the turning point in the season.

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