Chelsea fans were quite excited when the club signed Liam Delap from Ipswich Town last summer.
He had a very bright campaign in the Premier League and managed to score in the Club World Cup shortly after joining Chelsea.
However, things have not quite worked out for Delap overall, though there are reasons for his struggles.
This is so harsh on Delap! 😭
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Liam Delap impacted by lack of regular starts
Delap is yet to establish himself as a starter at Stamford Bridge, with injuries not helping him.
In total, the striker has made just 10 starts in the Premier League, including in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United.
According to The Athletic, Delap has found a lack of starts difficult to adjust to after a season where he played regularly.
The form of Joao Pedro has also kept the 23-year-old out of the Chelsea side. The goals have dried up for Pedro of late, but he has still managed to score 19 goals in all competitions.
Pedro missed the weekend’s game, but Delap feels Chelsea did enough to win against United without the Brazilian.
They face Brighton & Hove Albion next at the Amex Stadium, which will be another tough match.
How many starts did Liam Delap make last season?
Delap will be wishing that it were still the 2024/25 campaign. Although Ipswich went on to get relegated, he had a very good season, which helped him earn a £30m move to Chelsea.
In total, Delap made 32 starts, and they all came in the Premier League. After making 37 top-flight appearances overall, he finished the campaign with 12 goals.
Reaching double figures in a side that got relegated is an impressive feat. The Englishman is now in a much superior Chelsea team and will probably not even finish the season with five goals.
You could not blame Delap for wanting to leave Chelsea this summer. It was recently reported that Delap is intrigued by other clubs as they show an interest in him.
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