Enzo Maresca’s £30m signing told he made mistake joining Chelsea | Football
Gabriel Agbonlahor has named the Premier League club Liam Delap should have joined instead of Chelsea last summer.
Chelsea activated Delap’s £30m Ipswich Town release clause after being impressed by his performances for the Tractor Boys last season.
Delap scored 12 Premier League goals for an Ipswich side that won just four games and finished second from bottom, going straight back down to the Championship.
Manchester City considered re-signing their former academy graduate while Manchester United rivalled Chelsea in the summer transfer battle.
But Delap favoured a move to Stamford Bridge and signed a six-year deal with Chelsea just in time for their victorious Club World Cup campaign.
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Chelsea supporters had high hopes for Delap but the 22-year-old has endured a disappointing start to his career in west London.
It took Delap eight games to open his account for Chelsea – his first goal coming in the 3-0 Champions League win over Barcelona during the week.
Delap has also struggled with fitness issues since joining Chelsea and was out of action for almost two months before getting sent off in his first game back.
Agbonlahor believes Delap made a mistake joining Chelsea last summer given the amount of competition in Enzo Maresca’s squad and believes he would have benefitted from a move to a ‘lesser club’ like Everton.
‘I’m not sure about Liam Delap at the moment,’ Agbonlahor told talkSPORT ahead of Chelsea’s huge London derby against Arsenal.
‘I think he might have missed the trick of going to a lesser club before Chelsea, I don’t think he’s going to get the game-time in this Chelsea squad.
‘Could he have not gone to an Everton first, got 15-20 goals there and then made the jump to Chelsea?’
Chelsea manager Maresca was hugely critical of Delap after he was sent off in his first game back from injury against Wolves, describing the red card as ’embarrassing’.
‘Today we had a very stupid red card that was completely unnecessary,’ a furious Maresca said. ‘A stupid foul. He deserved that.
‘I can understand the red cards against Brighton and United, but against Nottingham and today, we can avoid that.
‘It’s embarrassing when it’s a red card like today. Two yellow cards in seven minutes. We can avoid both. It’s not good.
‘After the yellow card, I told him four or five times to stay calm. When he is on the pitch, he sometimes plays the game for himself and struggles to see the others around him.’
Chelsea slipped to third in the Premier League after Manchester City’s dramatic 3-2 win over Leeds United on Saturday.
But Maresca’s side can reclaim second spot from Man City and cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table on Sunday in a significant and intriguing London derby.
Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton does not expect that to happen, however, instead tipping Arsenal to return to north London with a routine win.
‘This is a big one – second versus first – and it is not the time to sit on the fence,’ he told BBC Sport.
‘I like what Enzo Maresca is doing at Chelsea and he is another manager who sticks to his principles in the way his team play.
‘Chelsea have kept three clean sheets in a row now too, so they are looking pretty solid at the back, but I still think Arsenal will be too powerful for them and win 2-0.
‘Mikel Arteta’s side showed how good they are when they beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.
‘They have shown they can beat any team in any way – out-muscle them, out-fight them or out-play them – and they will be ready for Chelsea.
‘Maresca might go with some pace up top again like he did against Barcelona’s high line, but Arsenal will have too much nous for them and I actually think they will win pretty comfortably.
‘Chelsea have made a really good start to the season but I don’t see them, or anyone else, pushing Arsenal close in the title race.’
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Enzo Maresca’s £30m signing told he made mistake joining Chelsea | Football
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