New face: Liam Delap is set to make his Chelsea debut at the Club World Cup
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Olivier Giroud has dismissed the idea of Chelsea’s number nine shirt being cursed as he backed Liam Delap to deliver at Stamford Bridge.
Delap has signed a six-year deal at Chelsea after the Blues activated the £30m release clause in his Ipswich contract.
The 22-year-old will wear the number nine shirt, which has been vacant since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left Chelsea.
Gonzalo Higuain, Romelu Lukaku, Fernando Torres and Radamel Falcao are among the other big names to have failed to deliver when in possession of that shirt number for the Blues.
Giroud did not wear the number nine during his time at Stamford Bridge but did so at AC Milan, where he was similarly warned about a “curse” before accepting the shirt.
Olivier Giroud did not wear the number nine shirt at Chelsea
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Asked about the struggles that Chelsea’s strikers have had, the Frenchman said: "When I signed for Milan, Paolo Maldini told me on the first Zoom I had with him, 'Are you sure about No.9? It's kind of cursed’.
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“I said it’s not about the number I have on my back which will make me be good and score goals. No, I want the nine. And then I’ve showed him there was no curse, I was doing well.
“It’s not about the number nine, it’s about the position on the field and being a striker is very, very demanding. You can be under the spotlight when things go really well, but you are the first also on the front line when you are not scoring goals.
“You have to show some character and strength mentality wise. You need to be strong in your head, even in the tough moments stay confident and keep working hard.
“There’s a lot of pressure when you play striker but for me it’s the best in football. There’s up and downs, you need to be ready for that.”
Giroud will come up against Chelsea when LAFC face them in their opening match of the Club World Cup next week.
Delap has been included in the Blues’ squad for the tournament and Giroud is confident the Englishman will make an impression for his new club.
“I think he’s very talented,” he said.
”The boys will help him to settle will, I think he will be fine.”