Chelsea signed Ipswich striker Liam Delap in the summer, and it’s already been noted by Micah Richards how he’ll link up “very well” with Cole Palmer after their first match together as Blues.
Chelsea have signed five players in the summer so far. Two of them – Delap and Dario Essugo – came off the bench for their debuts in the Blues’ Club World Cup opener.
Delap is probably the summer signing Chelsea fans are most excited about, and he has enhanced that view with an inch-perfect cross to Enzo Fernandez for his first assist for the club.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football, pundit Richards detailed how it looks like Delap should fit right in at Stamford Bridge.
“I put a message in the group saying Delap is struggling a little bit, and then two minutes later he got the assist!” Richards said.
“Obviously you want to see Delap come on and score, being English I want him to score and assist, and just play well.
“But a couple of his early touches I thought oh, it looks a bit fast out there for him, getting used to a new team, and then he grew into the game after about five or ten minutes.
“His stature, he was going into pockets, getting the ball and then even when he went out wide, the delivery on the cross was outstanding for Enzo.
“I just thought that I could see these combinations working really well next season — impressive debut I thought in the end from Delap.
“Did you see his movement though, it wasn’t on the goal, I think it was a chance, there was a movement when he first came on, he went one way, he didn’t get the ball.
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“It was Cole Palmer who actually played the ball to him and then he curved his run and I was like ‘oh, yes’, I like that, I can see them linking up very well next season.”
Chelsea next play in the Club World Cup against Flamengo on Friday, which will give Delap another opportunity to gel with his team-mates.
The further the Blues go in the tournament, the more time Delap and other new players will have playing alongside a new squad of players for them, ahead of their Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on August 17.
READ MORE: Five reasons why this Club World Cup is a load of old bollocks