Paul Merson believes Chelsea desperately need Liam Delap back as they miss having a focal point at the top end of the pitch.
Chelsea slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Sunderland which sees them drop to eighth in the Premier League.
Alejandro Garancho had given the Blues an early lead before Wilson Isidor equalised and Chemsdine Talbi fired home the winner in the 93rd minute.
Paul Merson on Chelsea needing Liam Delap back
The Blues really struggled to create anything against Sunderland in a performance which should leave Enzo Maresca feeling concerned.
Marc Guiu was handed his first Premier League start, but the 19-year-old really struggled and had just ten touches during his time on the pitch.
Joao Pedro also turned in another poor performance, with Maresca confirming afterwards he’s not 100% fit and is managing an issue.
Merson believes the Blues lack a focal point up front and badly need Delap, who scored 12 league goals for Ipswich last season to return.
“They [Chelsea] need Delap back badly, they need a focal point,” he said as cited on X.com.
“Guiu played up front and I think he touched the ball nine, 10 times.
“You can’t do that in a team that are supposed to be dominating the ball.”
Wolves a possible return date
Delap has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the end of August, and was expected to return to action in November.
However, Maresca has confirmed Delap could feature in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Wolves, with the striker now back in training.
Delap has been a big miss and hopefully his return will also see an improvement in the performances of Pedro who’s really struggled recently.
Chelsea have some big games coming, and it’s a major boost that it appears Delap is going to be fit for them to give the Blues a different dimension up front.
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