Chelsea’s Liam Delap Faces Big Pressure After Dream Debut Goal

Under the sweltering heat of Philadelphia, Liam Delap cushioned the ball before placing it precisely into the ES Tunis net.

The goal was the 22-year-old’s first for his new club, Chelsea, and he savored every second.

“It’s an incredible feeling. I came here to get goals, so to get the first one over and done with is a great feeling,” he said post-game.

“It was a great pass from Enzo [Fernandez,] but luckily it went in. Yes, I think it is a little bit of relief, not relief, but an extra bit of confidence; when coming to a place like this, you need confidence and belief.

“It’s right up there [with my favorite goals], and it means a lot to me.”

For many players, the prospect of a Club World Cup at the end of a grueling season is not alluring. But in Delap’s case, as a new signing who wishes to integrate as quickly as possible with teammates, the competition is precisely what he needs.

“Obviously, this tournament has helped me settle in because back at the training ground, everyone disappears at 3pm, but here we are together all the time, and it has helped me settle in,” he added.

“I know the manager really well, so hopefully, I can continue growing.”

A host of top sides eyed Delap after he bagged 12 goals in 37 matches for Ipswich in his first Premier League season. This feat was more impressive because it was achieved at a side that was relegated to the Championship.

The striker chose Chelsea because of his longstanding relationship with Enzo Maresca, his youth team coach from Manchester City.

As the Italian manager admitted much after the deal was signed.

“So the conversation with Liam was quite clear. He was keen to join us because he knows the way we play from the season that we were together [at Manchester City],” he explained.

“We won for the first time for Manchester City the [Premier League]

under-23 competition, and he scored 24, 25 goals that season.

“So he knows exactly what we can give to him, and as I said before, I know what Liam can give us. So, I think it’s a win-win, and the conversation was quite an easy one. We like Liam, Liam likes us, so it was an easy conversation.”

Maresca said that after the game, he wasn’t surprised at Delap settling so quickly for these reasons.

“We expected the process with Liam to be quite quick because he knows us, and we know him,” he said.

“We know each other very well. The process for him is quite quick. It is also because he is a very good player.”

The Pressure Mounts

Whenever English prospects emerge, they generate more excitement than foreign talents, and Delap is no exception.

There is already talk of him challenging Harry Kane for the central striker role in the national team, an ambitious target, to say the least.

“I said Liam can be England’s No. 9 when we faced Ipswich. Now he is a Chelsea player, I’m going to say again, I don’t have any doubt that he can be in the future England No. 9,” Marseca said of his forward.

“I never say to a player you are going to be first choice. The message is always the same: you arrive, you work hard, you work more than the other No. 9, and you can be first choice No. 9.”

It’s a task that is far from straightforward, given that Chelsea had a central striker when Delap arrived, Nicholas Jackson, a player who has shown steady improvement.

But the noises outside the club are already feeding the hype and expectations around Delap.

“He’s going to score goals, I’ll guarantee you that,” a giddy Gabriel Agbonlahor told TalkSport.

“He’s not here to be a bit-part player. He’s at Chelsea to be a number-one striker, and I really think he will.

The former Aston Villa forward added: “If I’m him, I’m saying to myself, ‘What’s my target? World Cup, that’s my target next summer.”

Delap will draw confidence from the example of his Chelsea team-mate Cole Palmer, whom he played with in the Manchester City youth system.

Palmer has excelled since moving to London, reaching heights that make the Citizens’ decision to let him leave look ill-judged.

According to Brian Barry-Murphy, a coach who worked with both players in the North West, the pair will benefit each other because they connected well as youngsters.

“I think they’re so linked because of the ability of one to serve the other,” he told Sky Sports.

“You’ll have seen Cole speak recently about how he wants to play forward, be expressive and aggressive. Liam is the one who will be willing to make those movements.

“At City, we would always speak about Liam having no reason not to make the run because Cole will find you. And it’ll be very interesting to see how that will manifest itself under Enzo Maresca.”

But until Delap starts delivering the goods, this is all hyperbole; he needs first to establish himself as Chelsea’s number one striker and demonstrate he can produce the goods for more than one campaign.