Xabi Alonso will have the pick of seven Chelsea strikers when he walks through the doors at Cobham training ground next week.
Florent Malouda has urged Liam Delap to leave Chelsea. The 23-year-old, whom the Blues only signed from Ipswich Town for £30million last year, faces an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge as he prepares to battle six other strikers for a place in Xabi Alonso’s squad.
Delap featured 41 times across all competitions for Chelsea last term, scoring two goals and providing four assists. The former England Under-21 international struggled to force himself into the starting lineup, with Joao Pedro quickly establishing himself as a key player.
Although Delap fell short of expectations, the start of his season was plagued by injury, derailing the momentum he had built in the summer. Just when the Englishman looked set for a spell in the side, he suffered a hamstring problem, sidelining him until the end of October.
Delap didn’t do himself any favours upon his return to action, getting a red card. Despite this, Enzo Maresca gave him a second chance; after a handful of appearances, the striker suffered a shoulder injury, which ruled him out for a couple of weeks.
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In January, Delap finally scored his first, and what would later turn out to be his only, goal of the Premier League season for Chelsea. Next term, the Englishman faces even more competition for a place in the squad, let alone on the pitch.
This summer, Xabi Alonso will have the pick of seven strikers: Joao Pedro, who’s set to be one of the first names on the teamsheet; Delap; Emmanuel Emegha; Nicolas Jackson; Marc Guiu; Shim Mhueka; and Dastan Satpayev. With only one game a week, the Blues manager may only need two or three frontmen.
So, in an interview with BOYLE Sports, Malouda encouraged Delap to consider leaving Chelsea. The former Blues winger said: “Liam Delap to Newcastle could be a success.
“I think he needs regular football; he needs to play. Confidence will come from that. For any opportunity, of course, nothing is guaranteed, but he needs to go to a club where he will have more chances.
“I don’t think even with the new manager at Chelsea, he will have more game time. So any opportunity to go to a club and get more game time, he has to take it.”
Last month, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink also backed Delap to leave Chelsea. The former Blues striker told 10bet: “Liam Delap needs to play. He needs to play football matches ASAP.
“I think next year is only going to be harder for him to get minutes at Chelsea because there aren’t going to be as many games; they are only playing in the Premier League and the domestic cups since they aren’t in Europe.
“The squad is going to be tighter, and they’ll mostly just be playing on Saturdays. It’s going to be very tough for him to get on the pitch. He cannot afford to have another year where he doesn’t play matches.
“If that means he needs to be loaned out or sold so he can play week-in, week-out, then so be it for the sake of his career…”
As it stands, it remains unclear whether Chelsea will offload Delap, whose contract at Stamford Bridge runs until June 2031.
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