Sport
Liam Delap and Joao Pedro Offer Chelsea Two Effective No. 9 Options
Joao Pedro all but paid back his £60m transfer fee in his first two games for Chelsea. The Brazilian forward bagged a brace in a 2-0 win over Fluminense to make the Club World Cup final before scoring another in a 3-0 demolition of Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday. Those two victories alone were worth roughly £40m from the FIFA purse.
Some questioned where Pedro would fit into Enzo Maresca’s team when he made the switch to Stamford Bridge from Brighton. On the south coast, the 23-year-old was used in a variety of positions across the forward line. His versatility was certainly a factor behind Chelsea’s interest, but Pedro’s performances as a number nine at the Club World Cup were eye-catching.
Liam Delap also made an impact at the tournament as another centre forward to have joined Chelsea this summer. The 22year-old came off the bench in the final against PSG to give the Blues threat in quick transition and would have found the back of the net had it not been for Gianluigi Donnarumma who made two sensational saves to deny him.
In this contrast between Pedro and Delap on Sunday, Chelsea got a hint of how they have transformed their attacking line. Both Pedro and Delap are excellent centre forward options, but they perform that role in a very different way. This gives Maresca more tactical flexibility than he had last season when Chelsea often struggled up front.
Pedro’s ability to drop deep and move across the forward line played a key role in disrupting PSG. They didn’t know whether to track the Brazilian or stand off him. Even when Pedro wasn’t on the ball, he made an impact – see how his run for the second goal opened up the space for Cole Palmer to find the back of the net.
“We knew already how good Joao is,” said Maresca when asked about Pedro’s role in the semi-final win over Fluminense. “Today, he was playing a little deep, and we know how good he is at dropping and linking [with his team-mates]. He is very good technically in small spaces, and that’s why we decided to bring him here.”
Delap is a different sort of number nine in the way he thrives in open space. The former Ipswich Town striker wants to run at opposition defences, as he did more than once over the course of Chelsea’s successful run at the Club World Cup. He is someone who doesn’t need a lot of service to pose a threat in front of goal. Delap is low maintenance.
Nicolas Jackson could be squeezed out of Chelsea’s plans as a consequence of the signings the club has made this summer. The Senegalese forward has struggled for consistency over the last two seasons at Stamford Bridge and hasn’t helped his case by being sent off in two matches towards the end of the campaign.
The summer addition of Pedro and Delap, however, hint at what Chelsea want to be under Maresca now that the Italian coach is moving into his second season at the helm. They want to have a toolbox of different solutions to the problems they will face over the course of a Premier League season.
They want quick transition attackers and also attackers who are comfortable dropping deep into space. They want a midfield that can play against the ball, but also one that can play forward. Maresca wants to have a degree of flexibility in all areas of the pitch and Chelsea now have that in the centre forward position. That much was clear at the Club World Cup.
