Enzo Maresca Trusts in Liam Delap’s Potential as Future England Striker
Coach Enzo Maresca has expressed his confidence that Liam Delap has the potential to become England’s main striker. However, he warns the 22-year-old player that he will have to fight for a place in the Chelsea team. Delap could make his Blues debut against LAFC in the FIFA Club World Cup opener on Monday in Atlanta, after completing a £30 million move from Ipswich Town earlier this month. Chelsea beat off competition from several clubs for Delap’s signature, including Manchester United, amid expectations that the former Manchester City academy player could, one day, compete with Harry Kane to lead his country’s attack.Kane is the captain of England and the all-time top scorer with 73 goals in 107 appearances. Maresca commented: “So he wasn’t even with us. And, of course, now that he is with us, I’m going to repeat that I have no doubt that he can be England’s number nine in the future.” “But I never tell the players that they are going to be the first option. The message is always the same: you arrive, you work hard, you work harder than the other number nine and you are going to be the starting number nine. So the conversation with Liam has been quite clear.” “He was really keen to join us because he knows how we play, the season we were together we also won the under-23 competition for the first time for Manchester City. He scored 24, 25 goals that season.” “So he knows exactly what we can give him and I know what Liam can give us. So I think it’s beneficial for both of us and the conversation was pretty easy. We like Liam, Liam likes us, so it was an easy conversation.” Chelsea gave Delap the club’s number 9 shirt, which many renowned players have struggled with in recent years, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Romelu Lukaku, Gonzalo Higuaín, Álvaro Morata, and Fernando Torres. “Liam knows very well how important the number nine is for this club,” continued Maresca, who coached Delap during his time at City. “Personally, I don’t see any problem with that. I see Liam quite relaxed, calm, he’s doing well. Since he arrived he’s been working well. We’ve known each other for years, so I know what Liam can give us, he knows what we can give him to improve and become a better player.” “And again, regarding the number nine, I hope he can score goals for us.” Midfielder Moisés Caicedo backed Delap to make an immediate impact during the tournament in the United States after impressing in training. “We are happy to have him because he is a very top player,” said Caicedo. “He showed it last season, so we are happy. He is training very well. You can see the quality he has. Surely we are going to score many goals with this incredible player.”When we faced Ipswich, before facing Ipswich, that is, when Liam wasn’t a Chelsea player, I said that for me, Liam, potentially, can be England’s number nine.
Enzo Maresca
