Liam Delap is set to miss the next six to eight weeks after picking up another injury, which has brought up the Chelsea future of Emanuel Emegha once again.
The Blues can’t seem to find any sort of luck when it comes to number nines.
Delap’s injury record is already worse than Nicolas Jackson’s, despite the Englishman only being at the club since the summer.
Now that he’s out, accelerating Emegha’s Chelsea arrival to January felt like the obvious choice. A new report lays out the club’s stance.
Liam Delap goes of injured during Chelsea vs Bournemouth
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea not set to bring forward Emanuel Emegha’s arrival
It’s another wildly inconvenient absence for the Blues to deal with.
Despite Enzo Maresca’s options up top being limited, sources at the club aren’t expecting any change to the Emegha plan.
The Daily Mail’s Kieran Gill reveals: “Chelsea are not set to accelerate Emmanuel Emegha’s arrival from Strasbourg this January in light of Liam Delap’s new injury.”
Emanuel Emegha reacts during Strasbourg vs Marseille
Photo by Sathire Kelpa/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
It’s certainly a strange choice, especially considering that Chelsea are discussing bringing in a new striker. With so many already on the books already, adding another feels excessive.
Add to that the recent news that Emegha was suspended by Strasbourg, and this line of thinking doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Why not call him back?
Maresca has options to cover for Delap
If Emegha is seen as a no-go, Chelsea still have plenty who can play that position.
Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro, Marc Guiu and Tyrique George are all options. It’s not ideal, but Delap’s absence isn’t the end of the world.
Here’s what Chelsea’s attack could look like following Liam Delap’s injury. What would you change? 🤔
Chelsea's potential attack without Liam Delap
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Emegha felt like the obvious solution, but judging by the whispers coming from Stamford Bridge, that isn’t the route Chelsea want to go down.
Maresca will have had some say in that, so he must think he has enough weapons for the Englishman’s absence to be dealt with. That, or a baffling January move is in the works.
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