Chelsea fans will have been hoping to see more from Liam Delap in the first few months of his time at Stamford Bridge.
Delap joined the Blues from Ipswich Town, and found the net in the group stages of the Club World Cup over the summer.
That is his only goal for the club so far though, and he has now been back for a number of weeks following his hamstring injury suffered back in August.
Chelsea fans actually called for the return of Nicolas Jackson after Delap’s performance in their 2-0 win against Burnley, and despite his good work deeper on the pitch he struggled to test Martin Dubravka in goal.
Burnley v Chelsea - Premier League
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Michael Owen tells Liam Delap to be more unselfish for Chelsea
There was a particular moment in the second half when Delap had sprung away on the left wing, and a simple pass across to Pedro Neto could have set the Blues up to comfortably double their lead.
However, he went on to go himself, an incident which frustrated Premier League golden boot winner Michael Owen.
He told Premier League Productions: “I quite like this lad, I do feel he’s got quite a lot to offer, I do think he is quite raw and he can get better.’
“I do think in this situation he needs to be a little bit more unselfish, he probably could have passed it a couple of times.
“If he plays this ball in [to Pedro Neto] and makes a run to take the defender away, he will leave Neto with a one-on-one in this area. I think he’s got to do that instead of being a bit selfish and thinking he’s going to score a goal on his own. He takes a pot-shot from 25 yards and it’s not great.”
Liam Delap in action during Burnley v Chelsea - Premier League
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Delap’s place could already be in danger
Chelsea brought in both Delap and Joao Pedro to bear the weight of playing up front for this season, although the latter has proven to play better in a deeper role.
This has seen the Blues remain linked to a number of new strikers in a future transfer market, as well as those who are already confirmed to be coming in.
Chelsea are keen on Jonathan David, and have Emanuel Emegha joining the first team squad at the end of the season from Strasbourg.
Their future looks sorted too with highly-rated youngster Dastan Satpaev on his way. He is eligible to join the club next summer.