“I was tired of getting the ball and going backwards or sideways,” said Cole Palmer about the last match of Chelsea's Conference League with Real Betis. And then he took the game at the neck of the neck.
Palmer's two assists to change the fortunes of his team from 1-0 to 2-1 raised its place as the most important gear in this Chelsea team. When he pops up, Chelsea tends to get the points. But it has not always been the case.
Palmer went from 53 goal involvement in his first 54 Chelsea matches to zero goals and only two assists in 12 games, for an increase in the late season. Getting aggressive runners such as Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez Fit and SHOELP helped – he set up both players in that European final.
And that is where Liam Delap comes in. Buying the £ 30 million from Ipswich is not only someone to stimulate Chelsea's firepower – he is another attacker to get the best out of the star player of Chelsea in Palmer.
That is because Delap and Palmer have worked with great effect in the MAN City Academy. Since their U18 days, the couple played 33 times together for the youth teams of the city or England. They won 28 and only lost twice.
In terms of points per game, Palmer only has a better record with one player in his career – Bernardo Silva van City. His collaboration with Delap is just as successful as the one he had with Rodri, who hardly loses a game in front of Pep Guardiola.
“I think they are so linked because of the ability of one to serve the other,” says Brian Barry-Murphy, the coach who collaborated with both players in the MAN City Elite Development Squad, to Sky Sports.
“You will have recently seen Cole speak about how he wants to continue playing, be expressive and aggressive. Liam is the one who will be willing to make those movements.
“In City we would always speak that Liam has no reason not to make the run because Cole will find you. And it will be very interesting to see how that will manifest itself under Enzo Maresca.”
Having efficient runners of the ball such as Delap is crucial for every attacking midfielder such as Palmer. We have seen it before in the Premier League.
In one of his last interviews for Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne was asked which teammate he had the best telepathic connection. Many were surprised to hear him say that the Raheem was sterling.
“The beauty of that relationship was Raheem's willingness to make the movement behind because of his consciousness and appreciation of Kevin's ability to find the pass,” says Barry-Murphy.
“These players are not yet completely at that level based on what they have achieved. But Cole has the opportunity to find that pass and Liam knows he can do that – so he will make the movements.”
'A pretty destructive attacker'
Chelsea discovered the impact of how effective Delap can be when the two parties met on Portman Road in December. Delap has pushed and hardened the back line of Chelsea, winning and scoring the first goal before he has the creative Omari Hutchinson for the second setup.
It was quite symbolic for the season of Delap with Ipswich. The 22-year-old is in second place for Progressive Carry's in the Premier League last season. Only Anthony Elanga had more.
“Liam is blessed with an extraordinary physical capacity to really sprint, very quickly,” says Barry-Murphy. “And then he is a naturally skilled striker, his shots are like rockets.
“It sounds fairly simple, but it makes him a pretty destructive attacker and quite difficult to play against because of his ability to be unpredictable at all times.
“I saw him against the most established or senior center backs and his strength is extraordinary. So they would be nervous to get in touch with him because of how powerful he is.
“And even in training it can be a rock when you make contact with him. And I think that generally offers a real difficult situation for defenders when they are confronted with him.”
But to describe Delap as just some storm ram would be unfair. Working in a club like City gives you a technical education like no other.
His finishing capacity placed him the most clinical Premier League players last season. Delap is in 10th place for XG OverPerformance – ie how many extra goals he scored compared to the quality of the chance he had.
In the same statistics, three of Chelsea's first choice Front finished four last season in the top 10 most wasting players in the Premier League. That could make him a popular player on Stamford Bridge next season.
“In terms of creativity, I think he can see things that don't seem normal,” says Barry-Murphy. “He will try something unexpected in the game that I would not even imagine that he could be feasible.
“He is really very cheeky. He will certainly try things and express himself in training – that can really be contagious. And [he’s] A really good player to be nearby too.
“He is willing to do things that are unusual, which can be very exciting for everyone to look at.”
Delap's Stamford Bridge Move also reunites him with Enzo Maresca, who, just like Barry-Murphy, worked with both players at the Academy of Man City.
The couple has certainly dropped it out in youth football. Delap scored 27 goals in 22 games for the Stadsb team of Maresca. Only one player has scored more for the Italian in his management career – and that is Palmer.
“I think the beauty of this movement is for him that he goes to a coach who really understands him, very well and will improve him and push him,” says Barry-Murphy.
“There are parts of Liam's game that he is fully aware of that they have to improve under Enzo and that will be a constant theme of how they work together.”
One of them could work on limiting that power and bringing in a feeling of calmness when he sets a goal. “One of the things he would have worked a lot on in Man City Under Pep, was to be calmer in finish situations and not to be trusted on total strength or strength,” adds Barry-Murphy.
“The thing for Liam was always about consistency. There are things that take eye and really breathtaking. It's about trying to find consistency and to be able to produce them more often and to have a meaningful impact in the game.
“It is clear that he can run and shoot from outside the box or score spectacular goals, but the possibility to score mass figures from those shots is very limited on the basis of what we see.
“And the higher the level of competition that goes, he will know that his bread and butter end up close to the goal with one and two touch finishes.”
This can be seen in the shooting numbers – where Delap shares a very similar record as Chelsea striker Jackson, who described Maresca as his “perfect no 9”.
Both strikers scored a similar number of Premier League goals – Delap with 12, two for Jackson. But from those 22 strikes, the attackers got one from outside the penalty area. The rest was in the box.
“I think what you have seen with Erling Haaland in Man City will translate into Liam is in this team, you must be patient and have your position,” says Barry-Murphy.
“Sometimes it does not mean as a heavily involved in the structure as he had been before. And then clearly be able to finish the attacks and take several defenders in areas where goals are scored.
“And that may mean that you score natural goals or that it creates a space for others to score goals, which is an important part of the way this team will function.”
Delap grew up in a very talented group of young people in the Academy of the City. Among his teammates were Morgan Rogers, now in the lead for Aston Villa and England. Romeo Lavia was also part of that team. James McATEE also broke into the first team of City this season.
However, nobody is done well as Palmer, so can Delap reach comparable heights and become a different product of the Stadsacademie to shine on Stamford Bridge?
“Cole has proven that he can translate his assets into that level of competition,” says Barry-Murphy. “The challenge for Liam will be this season to show that he can make those movements as often as he did before and to let them work at a much higher level of defender than he would have done at the level of the youth team.
“But in this season at Ipswich he can prove that he can do it – how often and how successful the challenge of this season would be.”