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Murphy has questioned a Chelsea transfer decision | Getty Images
Chelsea decided to give up on a player who seemed to developing well last summer.
Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy has questioned Chelsea’s decision to replace one of their players last summer. The Blues made some big decisions last summer, with many of them likely made above Enzo Maresca, with suggestions the Italian had a limited role when it came to recruitment.
A couple of red cards seemed to ruin the striker’s once growing reputation, and he ultimately joined Bayern Munich on loan. Meanwhile, Chelsea replaced him with then Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap, who arrived at the club still raw and needing to develop significantly.
Delap has scored just twice all season, and there are certainly questions to be asked over why Chelsea felt Delap was a better option than Jackson, both in the short and long term.
That’s something Danny Murphy has highlighted while speaking on TalkSport. He said: “Jackson in his first Chelsea season has done better than Delap has done. He’s more of a goal threat. I actually think Cole Palmer misses Nicolas Jackson.”
Jackson only has five goals for Bayern this season, but he has played a more limited role behind Harry Kane. To compare him to Delap, Jackson scored 17 goals across all competitions in his first season with Chelsea and 13 in his second season.
Delap does not look as though he will live up to that kind of goal return in his first season, requiring a ridiculously good end to the season, and there are also questions over whether he is good enough competition for Joao Pedro, who is preferred option up top.
Delap was always going to be a buy for the future, but it once again calls into question Chelsea’s seemingly immovable transfer strategy that, while productive in other ways, sacrifices current success for future value. Liam Rosenior may question that strategy and Jackson’s place within it this summer, when he evaluates his options, of which Jackson is one as the striker prepares to return from Bayern this summer.
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