Chelsea can forget Delap by unleashing teen star who’s “Cobham’s finest”

The January transfer window is now closed and Chelsea only managed to make one signing for their first team, bringing 19-year-old midfielder Mathis Amougou to the club from St Etienne for around £12.5m.

The Blues were busy in regards to outgoings though, with Cesare Casadei leaving on a permanent deal and Axel Disasi, João Félix, Renato Veiga and Carney Chukwuemeka all leaving the club on loan deals.

Enzo Maresca’s side did make one more move, recalling Trevoh Chalobah from his loan at Crystal Palace, with Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile both out through injury, meaning Chalobah was needed for the second half of the season to play an important role for Chelsea.

But with the outgoings in comparison to the incomings, Chelsea are actually lighter in certain areas than they were going into the January transfer window, especially when you also take injuries into account.

So how do Chelsea plan to manage this? Well, Maresca has already pointed towards “finding different solutions” in his latest press conference after Chelsea beat West Ham 2-1 on Monday night, and this could see plenty of academy players given a chance in the second half of this season, to prove their worth and offer an internal solution.

Chelsea’s internal solutions in attack

One solution Chelsea have is something Maresca mentioned in his press conference, with Mykhailo Mudryk out for the foreseeable future and Felix leaving the club, 19-year-old winger Tyrique George will be trusted with more minutes from that left-hand side, having the qualities the Italian desires in that area of the pitch.

His ability to go both ways (inside and outside), beat his man 1v1 and deliver crosses but also cut inside on his stronger right foot and get shots off, make him the perfect profile for a Maresca winger, and this could be his opportunity to shine.

Other academy graduates, such as Josh Acheampong, who has already started two Premier League games this season, alongside Levi Colwill in central defence and Sam Rak-Sakyi, who has received some good minutes in the Conference League from Maresca this season, could also be internal solutions to provide depth in the defensive line and midfield ranks.

The Chelsea prospect who could be unleashed instead of Delap signing

During the January window, the Blues were linked with a number of forwards including Ipswich striker Liam Delap.

When looking at Delap’s underlying numbers from this season, you can see why Chelsea were interested in the 21-year-old striker, who is finishing at a clinical rate, scoring 0.46 goals per 90 (overachieving his 0.37 xG per 90) and has a goals/shot ratio of 0.18.

However, the attacker remained at Portman Road with Chelsea missing out on adding an extra body alongside Nicolas Jackson. With Christopher Nkunku being more of a natural attacking midfielder, one man, in particular, could get his chance to shine in this second half of the season.

Chelsea’s 17-year-old striker prospect, Shumaira Mheuka (often shortened to Shim) received his senior debut under Maresca this season, coming from the bench against Astana in the UEFA Conference League, playing 12 minutes of senior football.

The youngster has been playing for the U21s and U18s this campaign, scoring seven goals in 18 appearances, also providing one assist. He has been labelled one of Chelsea’s “biggest jewels” by scout Jacek Kulig, stating him to be one of “Cobham’s finest”.

Mhueka has already shown at a young age he has the clinical finishing instincts in front of goal, the agility and ball manipulation to create his own shooting angles, and also the power and strength to protect the ball in the box and compete for crosses when they are delivered.

Whilst Delap would certainly be a brilliant signing, Chelsea could have a talent even bigger in the pipeline, and ensuring his pathway isn’t blocked into the first team will be key to keeping him for the future, and protecting one of their crown academy jewels.