🔗 Share this article Delap Makes Comeback as Chelsea Look to Address Striker Issues Liam Delap found the net for Chelsea at the Club World Cup during the summer months Forward Liam Delap is coming back from a hamstring injury at a important period for Chelsea. The West London club suffered a 2-1 defeat against surprise package Sunderland at their home ground on recently, with boss Enzo Maresca attributing "a lack of creativity" and his team's delivery being "not the best". Chelsea's attackers are finding it hard to score and assists as Delap returns in the EFL Cup against struggling Wolves on this week (19:45 GMT), having missed 10 games since picking up the problem in the victory over Fulham in the summer. Maresca commented the emerging talent will be slowly integrated "gradually", and the new recruit's comeback is vital for a club facing scrutiny over their mixed results, which has left the domestic cups their best opportunity of claiming silverware this season. Delap to Take Pressure Off Joao Pedro Delap (on the left) and Joao Pedro signed for Chelsea this summer transfer window for a aggregate £85m Chelsea brought in Delap from the Tractor Boys for £30m despite interest from the Red Devils, Newcastle United and Everton. Yet the Three Lions prospect was behind £55m signing Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this recent international tournament - and with valid cause. Joao Pedro scored three goals in three outings as Chelsea secured the maiden title in the United States. The Seleção attacker scored another two and three setups in his opening quartet of league fixtures after joining from Brighton. More recently, however, Joao Pedro has not scored in his previous seven fixtures. Maresca revealed he is one of three players - along with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who at the moment demand to be "protected". When queried about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca remarked: "Definitely the conditioning element is crucial. When you are not at peak condition it's difficult to compete, particularly in this division." "Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to reach twenty strikes every season. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to get goals and provide assists but he's a different kind of nine to ones that score 20 to 25 goals annually like the Polish striker, the PSG forward or [Erling] Haaland." Additional Concerns in Chelsea's Attack Chelsea face additional challenges apart from their strikers and Joao Pedro's goalless run. Attacker Cole Palmer has played two full matches all season and is not expected return from a groin problem until next month. Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a potential £52 million deal, has zero strikes and a single assist in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m recruit from Manchester United, has one goal in seven outings and forced an own goal against Benfica. Estevao Willian, eighteen, has entertained since arriving from Palmeiras for a fee rising to £51m, but has just two strikes and a single assist - paralleling youth product Tyrique George. Forward Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have one goal each. Marc Cucurella, who scored seven from defensive position last campaign, is still to score this season. Winger Pedro Neto has one goal and two goal contributions in his last two games, but earlier got only one goal in the opening ten matches. After thirteen fixtures in every tournament no attacker has above two scores, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's joint top scorers with four goals. Queried whether a absence of prolific strikers means duties need distributing, Maresca commented: "Definitely, yes. We said many times that the five players at the front, we need numerous strikes from each, in the fashion we managed last term." Maresca has developed approaches to compete despite goal-scoring variability. Chelsea are second place for dead-ball situations in the English top division, one behind Arsenal. In furthermore, the West London club are the initial club to have ten various goalscorers in the first division this season. Will Chelsea's Number Nine Curse Be Broken? Khalid Boulahrouz failed to score while bearing the nine shirt for Chelsea Some Chelsea fans think the center-forward number - claimed by Delap in the transfer window - is cursed. It had been vacant since last year, and squad members who sported it since the mid-2000s have found scoring difficult, including: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three goals in 21 appearances Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in fifty-eight matches Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in 82 appearances Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in nineteen matches Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in 72 games Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one score in twelve matches Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): forty-five strikes in 172 games Franco di Santo (2008-10) - failed to score in sixteen matches Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in 25 games Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - no goals in 20 appearances A midfielder and backline player are part of this selection, and some would argue Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his performance, while legendary strikers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thrived with the striker's jersey. But Delap was unfazed when queried about the hoodoo. "I'm not one [who believes in curses]," he commented at the international tournament. "In the final analysis it's a digit on the shirt of your shirt. It's just a figure that has traditionally been associated to strikers so it's something that I like and there's zero expectation."