🔗 Share this article Delap Back in Action as The Blues Look to Address Forward Concerns Liam Delap registered his sole strike for Chelsea at the global competition during the summer months Attacker Liam Delap is recovering from a hamstring injury at a crucial moment for Chelsea. The Stamford Bridge outfit lost 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at their stadium on Saturday, with manager Enzo Maresca citing "limited inventiveness" and his squad's passes being "not the best". Chelsea's strikers are having difficulty finding the net and assists as Delap makes his comeback in the League Cup against lowly Wolves on Wednesday (evening kickoff), having sat out 10 fixtures since sustaining the injury in the 2-0 win over Fulham in last month. Maresca stated the emerging talent will be phased in "gradually", and the summer signing's comeback is important for a club facing criticism over their mixed results, which has left the national tournaments their best opportunity of winning a trophy this campaign. Delap to Ease Burden On Joao Pedro Delap (left) and Joao Pedro arrived at Chelsea this summer transfer window for a combined £85m Chelsea signed Delap from the Championship side for £30m despite attention from Manchester United, Newcastle United and the Toffees. Yet the England Under-21s forward was below £55 million acquisition Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this global competition - and with solid justification. Joao Pedro scored three goals in three appearances as Chelsea claimed the first edition in the America. The Seleção attacker scored another two and three setups in his first four Premier League games after joining from Brighton. More recently, however, Joao Pedro has failed to score in his previous seven fixtures. Maresca stated he is one of three squad members - along with engine room operators Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who presently require to be "handled carefully". When questioned about Joao Pedro's dip in form, Maresca said: "Certainly the fitness aspect is crucial. When you are not at peak condition it's difficult to compete, notably in this league." "Joao Pedro is not a classic center-forward that is going to net twenty times each year. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to score and give assists but he's a distinctive forward to players who get 20 to 25 goals annually like the Polish striker, [Kylian] Mbappe or the Norwegian goal machine." Additional Concerns in Chelsea's Forward Line Chelsea deal with broader problems in addition to their strikers and Joao Pedro's drought. Winger Cole Palmer has completed two games all season and is not expected return from a groin injury until the winter. Wide player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, brought in from Borussia Dortmund for a fee rising to £52m, has zero strikes and one assist in ten appearances. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m recruit from Manchester United, has one score in seven matches and caused an own goal against Benfica. Estevao Willian, 18, has impressed since moving from Palmeiras for a fee rising to £51m, but has only two goals and one setup - matching homegrown talent Tyrique George. Forward Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have one goal each. Marc Cucurella, who got seven from full-back last campaign, is still to score this term. Wide man Pedro Neto has one score and two goal contributions in his past two matches, but prior to that found the net just once in the opening ten matches. After 13 matches in every tournament no striker has over two strikes, with midfielders Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's joint top scorers with four goals. Queried whether a shortage of clinical finishers means responsibility must be shared, Maresca commented: "Absolutely, yes. We frequently mentioned that the front five at the offense, we need six, seven, eight, nine, 10 goals each, in the way we have done last term." Maresca has developed approaches to challenge despite goal-scoring variability. Chelsea are runner-up in dead-ball situations in the top flight, trailing by one Arsenal. In moreover, the Stamford Bridge side are the first team to have 10 different scorers in the top flight this campaign. Will Chelsea's Number Nine Curse Be Broken? Khalid Boulahrouz was goalless while wearing the number nine for Chelsea Some Chelsea supporters believe the center-forward number - assigned to Delap in the transfer window - is hexed. It had been available since 2023, and squad members who donned it since the mid-2000s have had goal droughts, including: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three strikes in 21 games Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in 58 games Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 goals in 82 games Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five goals in 19 appearances Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 scores in 72 games Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one goal in 12 games Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 scores in 172 appearances Franco di Santo (2008-10) - failed to score in 16 appearances Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in twenty-five matches Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - zero strikes in twenty matches A central player and defender are among those listed, and some would contend Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his performance, while iconic forwards such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thrived with nine on their back. But Delap was unfazed when asked about the jinx. "I'm not the type of person [who believes in curses]," he stated at the Club World Cup. "At the end of the day it's a number on the back of your uniform. It's just a digit that has historically been connected to forwards so it's something that I like and there's zero expectation."