Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca expressed confidence that new £30 million signing Liam Delap, acquired from relegated Ipswich Town, has the potential to succeed Harry Kane as England's future striker. Speaking ahead of Chelsea's Club World Cup opener against Los Angeles FC in Atlanta, Maresca highlighted his previous experience coaching Delap in Manchester City's under-21 team.
The 22-year-old forward's arrival at Chelsea comes with high expectations, as he takes on the prestigious number nine shirt at the club.
"I don't have any doubt that he can be in the future England's number nine," Maresca said when asked about Delap's potential to succeed the 31-year-old Bayern Munich striker Kane.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Despite Chelsea's recent history with high-profile strikers like Fernando Torres, Romelu Lukaku, and Alvaro Morata struggling at the club, Maresca sees Delap handling the pressure well.
"Liam knows quite well how important is the number nine for this club... I see him quite relaxed, easy, he's doing well, since he arrived he's working well," Maresca stated.
The Italian coach emphasized the advantage of their existing relationship from their time at Manchester City. "We know each other already from years ago, so I know what Liam can give us, he knows what we can give to him to improve and to become a better player," Maresca explained.
"He was keen to join us because he knows the way we play, the season that we were together...he scored 24 goals. We like Liam, Liam likes us, so it was an easy conversation." Maresca clarified that Delap wasn't promised a starting position ahead of Nicolas Jackson.
"I never say to a player you (will) be a first choice, the message is always the same, you arrive, you work hard, you work more than the other number nine (and you can be)," he added. The coach also mentioned Chelsea's interest in signing a left-winger later in the summer to replace Jadon Sancho, whose loan will not be made permanent.
Regarding their upcoming Club World Cup match against LAFC, Maresca remained cautious.
"I'm never confident, I don't know if it's something good or something bad, but I think because of the technology today, any game can be difficult," he said. "They can watch many games about us, we can watch many games about them, so every game becomes very complicated."
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