Maresca’s support Drapp becomes England’s starter after completing Chelsea
Enzo Maresca is fully supportive of him behind the newly arrived Liam Delap, who admits the striker is destined to be England’s No. 9 number.
Delap, 22, will debut at the club’s World Cup after completing a £30m conversion from Ipswich earlier this month.
The move reunited Delap with Maresca, who had previously taught at Manchester City College. The striker signed a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge after scoring 12 goals in 37 Premier League games last season.
Chelsea began the club World Cup battle against Los Angeles FC on Monday, with Drapp taking the blue unit for the first time.
Maresca praised Delap’s potential in his speech in the United States: “When we face Ipswich, Liam is probably the ninth place in England.
“Now he is a Chelsea player, I want to say it again, I don’t doubt he will be the ninth place in England in the future.
Chelsea paid a lot for Liam Delap, just like the entire LAFC team is worth it 🤑 pic.twitter.com/8obppxsdqk
– Football transfer (@transfersdotcom) June 16, 2025
“We won the championship against Manchester City under 23, and he scored 24, 25 goals that season, so he knew what we could give him, and I knew what Liam could give us.
“It’s a win-win situation. We like Liam, and Liam likes us, so it’s easy to talk to.”
Delap chose to withdraw from England’s Under 21 champions in order to compete with Chelsea on the U.S. Tour.
Delap is one of four new faces set up by Chelsea, along with return borrowers Andrey Santos and new youth recruits Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Mike Penders.
Despite the big fanfare surrounding Delap’s arrival, Maresca was nervous about whether the striker would play against LaFC, noting that he faced competition from Nicolas Jackson as he played the lead role in the offense.
