Liam Delap came on to make his debut for Chelsea in a 2-0 win over LAFC in the FIFA Club World Cup and John Obi Mikel has given his thoughts on the England youth star.
TBR Football rated Delap’s display 7/10 as the striker got 26 minutes off the bench and marked his first appearance in Chelsea blue with an assist.
The 22-year-old impressively set up Enzo Fernandez as he made a nice run in behind LAFC’s defence and produced a first-time cross which perfectly picked out the Argentine.
Speaking after the game, Obi Mikel gave his thoughts on the signing of the former Ipswich Town man and he couldn’t help but bring up Victor Osimhen.
Liam Delap making his debut for Chelsea during the FIFA Club World Cup clash against Los Angeles.
Photo by Michael Regan – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
John Obi Mikel backs Liam Delap but claims Chelsea fans wanted Victor Osimhen
John Obi Mikel backs Liam Delap to be a success at Stamford Bridge, but claims Chelsea fans wanted Victor Osimhen.
Chelsea tried to sign Osimhen last summer, however, this time around, the Blues didn’t show much interest and instead signed Delap.
10 seconds into his debut and Chelsea fans compared Delap to Diego Costa as the new striker as he committed a foul just after he came on.
Obi Mikel told DAZN: “We needed somebody to come in and score those goals and finish those chances, but obviously he [Delap] wasn’t the guy the fans wanted, obviously we know who the fans wanted, the fans wanted Victor Osimhen to the football club, but he didn’t.”
The Chelsea legend still thinks that Delap can be the player to lead the line for the West London club and he is hopeful he will hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge.
“He’s young, he’s gonna improve, he’s gonna get better, hopefully he hits the ground running and of course he’s gonna quieten those doubters, I wish him well, I hope he succeeds in this club.”
Stat Jackson Delap
Minutes 64 26
Assists 0 1
Touches 26 14
Accurate passes 13/14 (93%) 6/8 (75%)
Shots (on target) 2 (1) 0
Liam Delap’s stats vs LAFC against Nicolas Jackson’s
Chelsea banked £1.5m for beating LAFC, showing just how lucrative the tournament is for the clubs participating.
Liam Delap sends message to Nicolas Jackson after his Chelsea debut
Delap has warned Nicolas Jackson that he is ready to compete for a starting spot at Chelsea after replacing him after 64 minutes.
The new Chelsea signing looked a lot more lively than Jackson, despite only playing for 26 minutes and the latter could now lose his place in the team.
Delap told DAZN: “It’s always healthy to have competition. It’s football. This is an incredible club and it’s going to be hard. You have to thrive off the competition.”
The 22-year-old outscored Jackson in the Premier League last season and now he could be the main man to lead the line at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking about Delap’s debut, Maresca told DAZN: “Absolutely (happy with his performance). The good thing about Liam, he knows the way we want to play, so the process is quite quick.”