Wayne Rooney names 3 reasons why Liam Delap is not yet doing well at Chelsea | OneFootball

Former England international Wayne Rooney has named three reasons why Liam Delap is not yet doing very well at Chelsea.

Delap has obviously struggled with a couple long term injuries as well this season. But when he is getting chances to play, he is not taking them. He hasn’t yet been playing well enough, nor has he been finding the net anywhere near enough for a Chelsea striker.

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Rooney acknowledges the injury issues as one of the reasons, but also points towards the style of play at Chelsea being different than Ipswich and Delap struggling to adapt to it. And the third reason is the superb form of Joao Pedro, who is keeping Delap out of the starting Xl.

Rooney on Delap

Liam Delap in action against Hull City. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Speaking on his podcast, Wayne Rooney believes that Liam Delap has been held back by injuries and the challenge faced from Joao Pedro in the team.

“Yeah, yeah. And I think Liam Delap, he’s struggled obviously with injuries,” he said on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show.

“And he hasn’t challenged Pedro rarely for that position when he’s played. And he’s still a young lad.

“There’s still a lot to learn and a lot to improve on. So, from that point of view, but regardless of what Delap is doing, Joe Pedro is making it very difficult for [Liam] Rosenior to leave the team.”

Rooney said that a major issue for Delap has been that Chelsea had played a different attacking style to the one deployed by Ipswich under McKenna.

“Yeah, listen, it’s tough and again, he’s a young lad,” he explained.

“And he suited Ipswich when the way Ipswich played in the Premier League and, you know, direct balls up to him running into the space and, you know, using his power, holding off defenders.

“But I think the way Chelsea plays [is] a bit more precise, more possession-based and you’d have to be a bit cleverer [to understand] why Joao Pedro was doing well in tighter areas and get your touch right and things like that.

“So, it’s a bit different to what he was used to at Ipswich. So, hopefully, he improves and he learns that. But at the minute, yeah, I think he’s finding it difficult.”

In other news today…

Chelsea midfielder Dario Essugo is keen for more minutes after finally playing following months out injured. He came on against Wrexham on Saturday evening and showed a lot of promise, even setting up a goal with a superb lob pass.

Essugo also spoke about the difficulties of being out for so long. He won’t want to dwell on it now he’s back, but it must have been so frustrating. I see more minutes ahead for him now with him being able to give rests to the likes of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.

Check out the latest edition of Simon Phillips’ SPTC podcast here: