Liam Delap Reacts to Chelsea No.9 ‘Curse’ That Has Affected Torres, Lukaku and More | OneFootball

Liam Delap admits that his move to Chelsea was the result of a gut feeling, confidently proclaiming the club's supposed No.9 shirt curse "doesn't mean anything" to him.

Delap was one of the most talked-about players on the market when the 2024–25 Premier League season ended, impressing with 12 goals for Ipswich Town but available for just £30 million ($40.5 million) due to a relegation clause becoming active.

Manchester United appeared to be the most viable alternative to Chelsea, with Everton, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest other serious suitors for the powerful 22-year-old.

Chelsea won the race on June 4, meaning Delap could be registered during FIFA’s early mini-transfer window and be eligible for the FIFA Club World Cup.

“You never know if it is going to be the right decision but you’ve just got to go with your gut and hope it works out. You’ve got to take your time. I took a few days to speak to people and decide my future,” he said, now just shy of three weeks into his Chelsea career.

Delap has impressed in two Club World Cup appearances so far and will likely keep his starting place in the third and final group game against ES Tunis due to Nicolas Jackson being suspended. But to play in the tournament, he had to forgo the Under-21 European Championship with England.

Liam Delap has made a good impression so far. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

“I had my sights set on the Euros all season and I was really looking forward to that. But I signed here and they wanted me to be [at the Club World Cup]. I want to be here as well,” he explained.

“I need to get to know everyone. I’m with the boys all the time, it helps me settle in really fast and we can prepare and work on things that we want to use in the season to come.”

So far, albeit after only 90 minutes of football, Delap hasn’t experienced the ‘curse’ that has afflicted every wearer of Chelsea’s No.9 shirt since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who left Stamford Bridge 21 years ago. But he says even the looming spectre of it won’t put him off his game. “I’m not that type of person. It’s something that people speculate about but it doesn’t mean anything to me.”

Even 21st century legends like Fernando Torres, Hernán Crespo, Gonzalo Higuaín, Radamel Falcao, Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have been among the shirt’s victims.