Chelsea FC Head Coach Enzo Maresca has today signified Chelsea’s intentions of winning the FIFA Club World Cup, stating that new acquisition Liam Delap has fixed Chelsea’s number 9 curse.
In a pre-match press conference ahead of today’s match against Los Angeles FC in Group D, Maresca expressed his confidence in the Englishman, further stating he is the future of the England men’s national team.
History with Delap
Enzo Maresca has confidence in Liam Delap, having helped manage him previously at Manchester City’s under-23s.
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Liam scored 24 or 25 goals that season, and Maresca feels the player is more grown now and will “surely” score many goals for Chelsea.
Chelsea’s number 9 jersey has been owned by some very iconic players in history like Fernando Torres, Romelu Lukaku, Gonzalo Higuain and Alvaro Morata.
But the jersey has been too heavy for most, with big names like Aubameyang, Falcao and Tammy Abraham having the worst seasons of their career as Chelsea’s number 9.
Chelsea signed Liam Delap from Premier League relegated side Ipswich Town for 5.3 billion in June 2025, to vie for the number 9 spot against Senegalese Nicholas Jackson.
“I never say to a player, ‘you will be first choice”. The message is always the same. Arrive, work hard, work more than the other number nine, and then you will be the first choice. So the conversation with Liam has been quite clear. He was keen to join us because he knows the way we play,” Maresca stated.
No hurry for Mike Maignan
Chelsea are starting the FIFA Club World Cup without their top target goalkeeper Mike Maignan after they failed to agree on a price with AC Milan for the shot-stopper.
Maresca replied to media sources, stating that there is still time to sign Mike Maignan after Chelsea focus on winning the FIFA Club World Cup.
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“Goalkeeper situation in Chelsea is easy; Roberto Sanchez is our number one goalkeeper. We have time to analyze him and make a decision in the coming weeks. For Mike Maignan and the other players who are with other clubs, it is not important to talk about them for now, “the Italian stated.
Chelsea face LA Galaxy with the odds heavily in their favour and momentum high after a terrific win in the Europa Conference League final to become the only team to win all European competitions.
Maresca added that he will rotate players because of the weather in the U.S., a positive factor as it will also help him to evaluate the team ahead of the coming Premier League Season in September.
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