Liam Delap's nightmare move to Chelsea appears to be heading for a bitter end. The £30 million striker, once hailed as a coup for the Blues, has managed just two goals in 38 appearances—and most of those came off the bench.
Signed from Ipswich Town after a breakout Premier League season, Delap looked set to compete for a starting spot. Instead, he tumbled behind Joao Pedro in the pecking order and has never looked comfortable in a Chelsea shirt.
Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith delivered a damning verdict. "It's certainly not worked for him," Smith said. "He doesn't look like a Chelsea player. He's got rough edges, gets too involved in the physical side, and he's mouthy—he got booked the other day for dissent."
Smith believes Chelsea may already be planning to offload the 23-year-old. "I think Chelsea might think they can get him out and get somebody else in," he added. "He'd regard going back to Ipswich as a failure, but who knows?"
Ex-Chelsea defender Glen Johnson offered an even starker assessment of the club's summer clear-out. "Anyone not getting in the team is up for sale," Johnson said. "If you can't get into a struggling team, then you're not good enough to ever get in the team. You need adequate back-up, otherwise it's all downhill."
Delap's misery mirrors Chelsea's own collapse. The Blues suffered their sixth straight Premier League defeat on Monday, a 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest. Next up is a trip to Anfield to face a struggling Liverpool side—and the pressure on interim boss Calum McFarlane grows by the day.
