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Liam Delap’s “embarrassing” red card against Wolves in midweek proved another major blip on his Chelsea career and, amid claims the Blues could look to sign an upgrade in January, sources have revealed the striker’s true thoughts on exiting Stamford Bridge to kickstart his career. The Blues beat Manchester United to the £30m signing of England Under-21 striker Delap over the summer. And while the move was seen as a real coup for some, others questioned whether the powerful 6ft 2in frontman would be able to provide the true qualities Chelsea need from a central striker to take the club to the next level. As it goes, Delap’s Chelsea career has really not got going at all. Suffering a bad hamstring injury in only his third game for the club at the end of August, the 22-year-old finally made his comeback after two months on the sidelines, when stepping off the bench in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup triumph at Wolves. But just 25 minutes into his return, Delap picked up two yellow cards and must now serve a one-match suspension – providing the striker with another major sour note on his Stamford Bridge career so far. With that dismissal, Delap became the sixth Chelsea figure to see red in nine matches, and the Blues’ poor disciplinary record has rattled manager Enzo Maresca. And as a direct result of Delap’s dismissal, reports on Thursday claimed his poor start at Stamford Bridge will only push Chelsea closer towards signing a 115-goal replacement when the transfer window opens for business again on January 1. However, our transfer insider Dean Jones insists it is far too soon to write off Delap, and he insists he can still make a success of his Chelsea career, despite branding his red card “silly” and of clear frustration to Maresca… DON’T MISS 🚨 Bombshell Vinicius Junior to Chelsea claim with £92m duo now at risk ‘Feisty’ Delap has no regrets at Chelsea move – sources In reaction to Delap’s red cards at Molineux, Maresca was clearly unimpressed by what he had seen. “The three goals we conceded, I think all of them we can avoid and, for sure today, also we had a very stupid red card that is completely unnecessary,” the Italian told the media in reaction to the topsy-turvy 4-3 win that earned a quarter-final place at League One Cardiff. “Absolutely, yes,” he responded when asked if Delap’s red card was deserved. “I completely understand when there are red cards like Brighton or Man Utd that is difficult, but the red card against Nottingham Forest and the red card today, both we can avoid. And we have to avoid that. “It’s embarrassing when it’s a red card like today. Because it’s two yellow cards in five minutes, 10 minutes, I don’t know, seven minutes. Both I think we can avoid. So it’s not good.” Liam Delap second yellow card 86’ against Wolves 🟨 byu/yemoru inchelseafc He added: “After the yellow card, I told him [Delap] four or five times to keep calm. But Liam is a player that when he’s inside the pitch, probably he’ll be playing the game for himself and he struggles to realise and to listen around him.” Despite that, Jones insists Delap can still turn his fortunes around and will be more determined than ever to right that wrong when he returns to the squad for the long Champions League trip to face Qarabag on Wednesday. “Delap always knew he would be making a big decision to join Chelsea because they are ruthless in terms of squad competition and will not carry passengers for long before looking to replace them. Part of joining Chelsea was to push the limits of what he is capable of, even at a young age,” Jones told us. “The problem with criticising him for his red card is that these competitive traits he has are part of the reason Chelsea signed him. They wanted someone young and strong with a high ceiling, but additionally, they liked Delap because he had that nasty streak in him. He has always shown that physicality and played with a risk of overstepping the mark. “It’s difficult to defend his red card because it was very silly and I bet Chelsea are frustrated by it because of the impact. “But this is what you risk with him. It might be part of what eventually makes him great. The other side of it is that he is great at bringing people into play, he is a determined, mobile player and also has a very good finish on him. He’s very confident, too, but you can never fully remove the feisty nature he has. “There’s no way he’s going to be actively looking for a move in January because he is the sort of player that is driven and gritty and will also probably prove to be resilient.” Latest Chelsea news: Blues ‘favourites’ for Juve talent; new deal for improving star Meanwhile, Chelsea have altered their stance on an improving defender’s future and are now looking to tie the star down to a new contract, according to pretty reliable reports in the French media. Elsewhere, the Blues are reported to be persistent in their bid to secure Kenan Yildiz and are now seen as ‘favourites’ to sign him, though the electrifying 20-year-old Juventus forward is also wanted by four other major clubs. And finally, Barcelona could succeed where Chelsea failed with a sensational striker deal – and the stats show he’s a far better option than Dusan Vlahovic, who has also recently been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.
