It’s been another frustrating campaign for Chelsea so far this season.
One week, Enzo Maresca’s side are able to keep Premier League leaders Arsenal at bay with ten men and tear Barcelona apart 3-0 in the Champions League.
Yet, the next week they’ll lose 3-1 to Leeds United and be held to a draw away to Bournemouth.
One of the big problems this season has been a lack of goals from their strikers, and the worrying thing for Liam Delap in particular is that Chelsea may already have a forward who could end his stay at Stamford Bridge early.
Chelsea's striker situation
Chelsea did not score enough goals last season; they ended the campaign having scored 22 fewer than Liverpool, eight fewer than Manchester City, five fewer than Arsenal and even four fewer than Newcastle United.
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So, on top of their other business, the Blues opted to send Nicolas Jackson out on loan and bring in Delap and Joao Pedro to compete for that nine position, with Marc Guiu then returning from loan after the Englishman suffered a hamstring injury in the third game of the season.
Now, while this looked like a reasonable plan from the outset, it would be fair to say that, so far, it has not really worked out.
The West Londoners have still scored fewer goals than the Gunners and City, and their forward options are a significant reason why.
Pedro, for example, may have been on fire in the Club World Cup and pre-season, but after the first few games of the campaign proper, he has underwhelmed.
For example, in 18 appearances, totalling 1377 minutes, the former Brighton & Hove Albion star has scored four goals and provided three assists, which is an average of a goal involvement every 2.57 games, or every 196.71 minutes.
Moving on to Guiu, the Spaniard has barely been given a chance to play this season, but has scored and assisted a goal in 280 minutes of football across eight appearances.
That comes out to a reasonable enough average of a goal involvement every 140 minutes, or every four games.
Finally, arguably the most orthodox centre forward of the lot, and potentially the most disappointing so far, is Delap.
Games
18
8
11
Minutes
1377′
280′
453′
Goals
4
1
1
Assists
3
1
0
When not injured or suspended, the former Ipswich Town star has made 11 appearances for the West Londoners, totalling 453 minutes, in which he has scored just a solitary goal.
Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, he is now set to miss another eight weeks of action with a shoulder injury he picked up against the Cherries.
Now, there is every chance Delap could eventually come good this season, but if he does not, his stay at Stamford Bridge could be cut short by another exciting striker making his way there in the summer.
The Striker that could end Delap's Chelsea career
Following the news that Delap would be out for up to eight weeks, there was talk that Chelsea could potentially bring Emmanuel Emegha’s move forward to the winter window.
That now seems to be unlikely, but even so, the Strasbourg forward, who agreed to join the Blues in September, is the player who could be bad news for the Englishman next season.
Why is this the case, you may ask. Well, the first and by far most significant reason is the simple fact that he appears to be a reliable source of goals and assists.
For example, in 29 appearances last season, totalling 2408 minutes, the Dutchman scored 14 goals and provided three assists, which is an average of a goal involvement every 1.70 games, or every 141.64 minutes. There’s a reason he’s been described as a “devastating” talent by scout Antonio Mango.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough for a young forward, the “simply phenomenal” goalscorer, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has gotten even better this season.
In 11 appearances, totalling 664 minutes, he has already scored seven goals and provided two assists, which comes out to a staggering average of a goal involvement every 1.22 games, or every 73.77 minutes.
Season
24/25
25/26
Appearances
29
11
Minutes
2408′
664′
Goals
14
7
Assists
3
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0.58
0.81
Minutes per Goal Involvement
141.64′
73.77′
On top of this incredible output, the Den Haag-born poacher is also the captain of Strasbourg, so he should not feel intimidated by stepping up a level in the Premier League.
Finally, he is also 6 foot 5 and no pushover, so on top of potentially being a better goalscorer than Delap, he should be able to hold up the ball at least as well, if not better.
Ultimately, there is still time for the former Ipswich ace to come good at Chelsea, but if he doesn’t improve this season, Emegha could be the one to end his Stamford Bridge stay as soon as next year.
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