Newly signed Chelsea striker Liam Delap’s place as the starting number nine under Enzo Maresca isn't completely set in stone yet, with competition from Joao Pedro and Nicolas Jackson looming. The big £30 million signing is yet to be a finished product, but one thing Chelsea can't afford to do is neglect Delap, and cant let his career go down the same path as their once homegrown talent Tammy Abraham’s did.
During his time at Chelsea following a long string of loans, Tammy Abraham was always seen as a temporary option as a striker for Chelsea, and was never spoke about as an out and out top six striker, but after moving away from Chelsea in 2021, his career leaped to new heights, and proved he was as good as he some thought he was, and highlighted how Chelsea may have made the dump too soon. Delap on the other hand isn't a homegrown talent, and has been bought specifically to thrive under Chelsea’s new young system, but with a long list of competition, and no first team football guaranteed, Chelsea really can't afford to let another top class striker slip away, purely due to lack of opportunity.
Over the last couple of years Chelsea have been notorious for signing big players, and loading up depth in each position, but for a player like Delap, who only needs a chance at a big club to prove he is a big time striker, temporary and inconsistent playing time may lead him down the wrong path. When Chelsea signed him, the number nine job looked open for him, and his sights were finally set on being a top six striker, but his competition in West London isn't what he had in mind.
Although Abraham wasn't a world beater at Chelsea, and wasn't the expensive and flashy striker who scored 30 goals a season, he went on to prove he can be an elite goal scorer across Europe, and Delap can be the same, even better. If Chelsea neglect Delap's playing time, and fans begin to see him the same as they saw Abraham, he may turn into the goal scoring phenom he was once promised to be had he be given a chance, and the Delap situation in Chelsea is very delicate at the moment, and they can't afford to get this one wrong.
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