AT least one Chelsea striker came back with a bang at the weekend.
But Blues fans will have to wait for Emanuel Emegha while their frustrations with Liam Delap grow.
Delap, 22, struggled against Wolves in his first Premier League game since suffering a hamstring injury in August.
Meanwhile, Emegha, 22, scored twice for sister club Strasbourg on his own return from a similar problem, to take his tally to four goals in just five Ligue 1 appearances.
The Dutchman is due at Stamford Bridge next summer after the move – for an undisclosed sum – was agreed in September.
And there are currently no plans to bring the transfer forward, despite Chelsea’s need for a reliable centre-forward.
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Some Blues supporters are already growing impatient with Delap and think Emegha would do a better job.
Joao Pedro is back on the goal trail with two in his last two Premier League games, but the Brazilian prefers to operate in the No10 role.
Spanish teenager Marc Guiu, who was recalled from loan at Sunderland after Delap’s injury, has shown flashes of what he can do as a frontman.
But Delap, a £30million summer signing from Ipswich, was supposed to be the focal point of a new-look Chelsea attack.
His unfortunate injury against Fulham was a big blow and explains a lot of his struggle to find form and match fitness.
Yet the former Manchester City academy star did not help himself with a silly sending off in the Carabao Cup win at Wolves last month.
And his lacklustre display against Wolves was made to look even worse when replacement Estevao Willian immediately set up Pedro for the second goal, and makeshift centre-forward Pedro Neto added the third.
Would Emegha do any better?
Comparisons between him and Delap have to come with a health warning.
Premier League history is littered with strikers who did well in overseas leagues but couldn’t cut it in England.
What is undeniable is that Strasbourg captain Emegha has much more experience of top-flight football than Delap, despite being only five days older.
As well as being the sixth highest goalscorer in Ligue 1 last season, with 14, and nabbing eight for Strasbourg in 2022/3, he has found the net in the top divisions in Austria and the Netherlands, with Sturm Graz and Sparta Rotterdam respectively.
Comparison per-90-minute stats
Delap made just two substitute appearances for City in the Premier League before joining promoted Ipswich in the summer of 2024 for his first proper season of top-flight action.
He was impressive in scoring 12 times for a struggling side and snubbed Manchester United to join Chelsea.
But that hamstring injury has restricted him to just six appearances and only three starts.
Given the small sample size, it is fairer to compare Delap with Emegha on their per-90-minute stats. And there is not much to choose between them.
Emegha gets more big chances but Delap converts a better share of his than the Dutchman.
And Delap has, so far at least, outperformed his expected goals in Premier League football, while Emegha has scored fewer than the data would predict across his whole top-flight career.
Negative fan reaction
But Emegha’s form this season is undeniably superior. He is averaging a goal every 60.2 minutes in Ligue 1, albeit across only five appearances.
Delap is yet to score for Chelsea.
But most would agree the Englishman deserves more time to prove he can build on last season and become the Blues’ main man.
Even if bosses at BlueCo – the company which owns both Chelsea and Strasbourg – are tempted to bring forward the Emegha transfer, they would surely have to consider fan reaction.
Some Strasbourg supporters, already unhappy about becoming a feeder club for the Blues, were furious when the Emegha deal was announced.
Fans booed when the injured star and captain was being presented with a player of the month award.
Some held up a banner that read: “Emegha, BlueCo’s pawn, after switching jerseys, give back your armband.”
If Chelsea were to bring Emegha to London in January, it would alienate other sections of the Strasbourg fanbase who are enjoying how the Dutchman’s goals are putting their team in the race for a Champions League place.
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All in all, it seems likely Delap will be given the opportunity to prove himself before Emegha arrives next summer.
But with every goal the Dutchman scores, and every performance like Delap’s against Wolves, the tension will grow.
Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn 2 – all the info
TIME for round two of this generation’s family feud!
Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn go punch-for-punch once again as both rivals look to make their fathers proud.
The blockbuster rematch takes place at the 62,000-seater Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, November 15.
Eubank Jr narrowly outpointed his bitter foe after 12 brutal rounds in April to secure the bragging rights in what was certainly a Fight of the Year contender.
And the two British superstars will dance once more as Eubank Jr aims to do the double while Benn seeks revenge after suffering a first career loss.
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