Former Chelsea player speaks out about Liam Delap and “cursed” number 9 | OneFootball

Chelsea have secured the striker they wanted this summer, signing up Liam Delap for his exceptionally cheap £30m release clause.

He’s come in and taken the number 9 shirt, a bold move given there’s something of a “curse” around it.

It’s certainly been more bad than good in terms of the Chelsea players wearing it over the last few years. Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Romelu Lukaku, Gonzalo Higuain, Alvaro Morata, Radamel Falcao, Fernando Torres, Franco Di Santo… it’s not an ideal list let’s face it.

Former Blue Giroud on his experiences with “curses”

One player who did thrive up front for us was Olivier Giroud, and in the buildup to our game against his LAFC team the former Blues striker was asked what he made of the young forward brought in to try and solve our problems up top, as well as what he makes of the curse itself.

You can see Giroud speaking in the clip embedded here:

Giroud on “demanding” position and Delap’s potential

“It’s not about the number nine, it’s the position on the field. Striker is very, very demanding,” Giroud explained.

“You can be under the spotlight when things go really well, but you are the first on the frontline when you are not scoring goals. You have to show some character, even in tough moments, stay confident and keep working hard. But there is a lot of pressure when you play striker.

“If he’s got a good mentality, and I think he’s very talented, and the boys will help him to settle well, I think it will be fine.”

Giroud is right – there’s no problem with the shirt, just a problem with the players we’ve bought to wear it. The best first step towards breaking any sort of “curse” is showing the confidence to confront it head on, and by choosing the 9 Delap has done just that.