Striker Liam Delap is coming back from a thigh problem at a important period for Chelsea.
The West London club lost 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at their home ground on Saturday, with head coach Enzo Maresca citing "limited inventiveness" and his team's delivery being "below standard".
Chelsea's strikers are struggling for goals and key passes as Delap is back available in the League Cup against bottom-half Wolves on Wednesday (evening kickoff), having missed 10 games since picking up the problem in the 2-0 win over Fulham in August.
Maresca stated the emerging talent will be slowly integrated "slowly", and the recent acquisition's comeback is crucial for a team facing questions over their inconsistency, which has left the domestic cups their primary hope of claiming silverware this campaign.
Delap to Ease Burden On Joao Pedro
Chelsea acquired Delap from Ipswich Town for thirty million pounds despite attention from Manchester United, Newcastle United and Everton.
Yet the young English striker was behind expensive recruit Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this global competition - and with valid cause.
Joao Pedro scored three goals in three appearances as Chelsea won the inaugural tournament in the America. The Brazilian forward added two more goals and three setups in his opening quartet of league fixtures after arriving from Brighton.
More lately, however, Joao Pedro has failed to score in his previous seven fixtures. Maresca said he is one of three squad members - along with central players Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who at the moment demand to be "shielded".
When asked about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca remarked: "Definitely the conditioning element is important. When you are not 100% it's challenging to excel, especially in this league."
"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to reach twenty strikes annually. Joao's a fantastic player, he's going to get goals and give assists but he's a distinctive forward to players who get 20 to 25 goals each year like the Polish striker, [Kylian] Mbappe or the Norwegian goal machine."
Additional Concerns in Chelsea's Offense
Chelsea confront additional challenges apart from their attackers and Joao Pedro's goalless run.
Winger Cole Palmer has played two full matches all campaign and is not anticipated to feature from a lower body issue until the winter.
Wide player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, brought in from Borussia Dortmund for a £52m package, has zero strikes and a single assist in ten appearances. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has one score in seven games and induced an opposition error against Benfica.
Estevao Willian, eighteen, has shown promise since moving from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has just two strikes and one setup - equaling youth product Tyrique George.
Forward Marc Guiu and Brighton loanee Facundo Buonanotte have one goal each.
Marc Cucurella, who got seven from full-back last campaign, is yet to find the net this term. Wide man Pedro Neto has a single strike and two setups in his past two matches, but before that found the net just once in the first 10 games.
After thirteen fixtures in various cups no striker has above two scores, with central players Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's equal leading marksmen with four.
Questioned whether a shortage of clinical finishers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca said: "Certainly, yes. We said many times that the quintet of attackers at the attack, we need multiple goals per player, in the way we have done last season."
Maresca has found ways to challenge despite attacking inconsistency. Chelsea are runner-up in set-piece goals in the top flight, one behind Arsenal. In moreover, the Blues are the initial club to have ten distinct net-finders in the Premier League this term.
Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?
Some Chelsea followers believe the center-forward number - taken by Delap in the transfer window - is jinxed. It had been unoccupied since last year, and squad members who wore it since the mid-2000s have had goal droughts, including:
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three strikes in twenty-one matches
- Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in 58 games
- Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 scores in eighty-two matches
- Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five goals in nineteen matches
- Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 scores in 72 appearances
- Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one goal in 12 appearances
- Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 goals in 172 appearances
- Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in sixteen matches
- Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - a single strike in 25 games
- Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - failed to score in 20 games
A midfielder and backline player are among those listed, and some would suggest Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his record, while legendary strikers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink excelled with nine on their back.
But Delap was unmoved when questioned about the hoodoo. "I'm not one [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 shirt. It's just a number that has historically been connected to attackers so it's something that I enjoy and there's zero expectation."
