🔗 Share this article Delap Makes Comeback as The Blues Aim to Solve Forward Concerns Liam Delap scored his only goal for Chelsea at the Club World Cup during the warm season Forward Liam Delap is returning from a muscle issue at a time of need for Chelsea. The West London club lost 2-1 against shock contenders Sunderland at their home ground on the weekend, with boss Enzo Maresca blaming "limited inventiveness" and his squad's passes being "not the best". Chelsea's forwards are having difficulty finding the net and key passes as Delap returns in the Carabao Cup against bottom-half Wolves on this week (19:45 GMT), having been absent for 10 matches since suffering the setback in the 2-0 win over Fulham in August. Maresca stated the 22-year-old will be gradually introduced "carefully", and the new recruit's comeback is important for a club facing scrutiny over their mixed results, which has left the cup competitions their primary hope of claiming silverware this season. Delap to Share Load With Joao Pedro Delap (left) and Joao Pedro signed for Chelsea this off-season for a aggregate £85m Chelsea signed Delap from the Championship side for thirty million pounds despite attention from Manchester United, the Magpies and Everton. Yet the England Under-21s forward was below £55m signing Joao Pedro in the team ranking at this global competition - and with valid cause. Joao Pedro registered a trio of strikes in three outings as Chelsea claimed the first edition in the United States. The Seleção attacker added two more goals and three setups in his first four Premier League games after moving from the Seagulls. More of late, however, Joao Pedro has not scored 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 at the moment demand to be "protected". When asked about Joao Pedro's dip in form, Maresca commented: "Certainly the conditioning element is important. When you are not 100% it's hard to perform, particularly in this competition." "Joao Pedro is not a classic center-forward that is going to score 20 goals annually. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to find the net and provide assists but he's a alternative type of striker to those who net 20 to 25 goals annually like the Bayern legend, the French superstar or the Norwegian goal machine." Wider Problems in Chelsea's Forward Line Chelsea face additional challenges apart from their strikers and Joao Pedro's scoreless streak. Attacker Cole Palmer has completed two games all term and is not anticipated to feature from a groin injury until the winter. Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, acquired from Borussia Dortmund for a fee rising to £52m, has zero strikes and one assist in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m recruit from Manchester United, has one score in seven games and forced an own goal against Benfica. Estevao Willian, eighteen, has impressed since arriving from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has only two goals and a single assist - paralleling homegrown talent Tyrique George. Striker Marc Guiu and Seagulls temporary signing Facundo Buonanotte have one goal each. Marc Cucurella, who got seven from full-back last campaign, is still to score this term. Attacking player Pedro Neto has a single strike and two setups in his past two matches, but before that got only one goal in the first 10 games. After thirteen fixtures in every tournament no striker has above two scores, with midfielders Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's equal leading marksmen with four strikes. Asked whether a absence of prolific strikers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca said: "Definitely, yes. We said many times that the five players at the front, we need multiple goals per player, in the fashion we managed last term." Maresca has discovered methods to compete despite goal-scoring variability. Chelsea are runner-up in set-piece goals in the top flight, one behind Arsenal. In furthermore, the Blues are the initial club to have ten various goalscorers in the first division this campaign. Will Chelsea's Number Nine Curse Be Broken? Khalid Boulahrouz didn't find the net while bearing the nine shirt for Chelsea Some Chelsea followers think the center-forward number - taken by Delap in the transfer window - is hexed. It had been available since 2023, and footballers who sported it since 2006 have struggled for goals, including: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in 21 games Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 scores in 58 appearances Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 scores in eighty-two matches Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five goals in 19 games Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 goals in seventy-two matches Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one goal in 12 games Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): forty-five strikes in one hundred seventy-two matches Franco di Santo (2008-10) - no goals in 16 games Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - a single strike in 25 appearances Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - failed to score in 20 games A midfielder and backline player are among those listed, and some would contend Abraham broke the curse with his achievement, while iconic forwards such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thrived with the striker's jersey. But Delap was unconcerned when queried about the curse. "I'm not the type of person [who believes in curses]," he said at the international tournament. "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 strikers so it's something that I appreciate and there's zero expectation."