Chelsea summer signing Liam Delap is still waiting to put a regular run of games together since joining the club from Ipswich Town.
Delap suffered a serious hamstring injury back in August, and saw his comeback last month disrupted by a red card upon his return against Wolves in the League Cup.
There was a sign of the player Chelsea had hoped they’d signed against Barcelona, where he scored his first goal since the Club World Cup in their 3-0 win.
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Delap will be hoping that his move to Stamford Bridge will bolster his chances of playing for his country. Up to now, the striker is yet to feature for England under Thomas Tuchel.
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England coaches see Liam Delap as Harry Kane’s successor
Journalist Henry Winter has stated though that coaches at the FA at St George’s Park are tipping Delap to be the successor to Harry Kane in the striker position.
He told ‘Market Madness‘: “We talked to Tuchel about Toney. He brought him in, used him briefly, and has sort of not looked at him since.
“Dominic Solanke isn’t fit. But it was encouraging the other night to see Liam Delap score, because I think long term, certainly talking to FA coaches and people in the age group system at St George’s Park, they feel that Liam Delap is the long term successor for Harry Kane, but it’s still a drop off.”
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Delap set for big minutes in coming weeks at Chelsea
Despite scoring against Barcelona, Delap was only on the bench for that game, as well as the following huge clash against Arsenal.
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However, with the games coming thick and fast, Chelsea are going to have to continue to rotate their squad in all competitions, and the striker will certainly be in line for some starts.
The first of those could come against Leeds United on Wednesday, and he could be the benefactor of a return to the starting side to Cole Palmer too.
The England international was on the bench against Arsenal, however the state of the game saw Maresca decide to hold him back.