Delap's Quiet Spark: Owen Bets Chelsea's Rising Star Has a Bright Future

Match Moment

Liam Delap, Chelsea's young forward, unsettled the England legend Michael Owen with his performance against Burnley at Turf Moor, even though the night ended without a goal for him.

Chelsea won 2-0 on Saturday in the 12th round of the Premier League, with Delap starting as part of Enzo Maresca's lineup.

Delap, who had not yet opened his league scoring account for Chelsea, had been out for two months due to injury before being substituted in the late October/November return. Still, he showed flashes that Owen praised.

Owen, analyzing the game for Premier League Productions, said: "The performance was a mix of positives and negatives. I love this player and I think there is a lot more to come, but he remains a talent capable of further development."

Delap touched the ball just 19 times over 66 minutes before the coach Enzo Maresca pulled him for right-back Malo Gusto, with Joao Pedro shifting to an attacking role.

Despite limited minutes, the 23-year-old fired two shots, both off target, prompting Owen to say he could have done better with his opportunities.

Owen pointed to one first‑half moment when Delap burst forward and shot well wide, saying: "I think he needed to be less selfish in that moment. He could have passed twice."

He added: "If he had laid it off to Pedro Neto on his right, then pulled the defender, Neto would have been one‑on‑one in this area. He should do that instead of trying to score from 25 yards with a low-quality strike."

Struggles

Only Jimmy Gittens of Chelsea had fewer touches than Delap in the first half, while Burnley’s Ryan Fleming was the only opponent with fewer touches than the Chelsea forward overall.

Delap completed the fewest passes among Chelsea’s starters, underscoring his ongoing search for his first Chelsea goal.

The former Ipswich Town striker, who last season bagged 12 league goals, had already scored in Chelsea’s second appearance at the Club World Cup, then converted a penalty in a friendly, but struggled to sustain that form.

Owen insisted: "He must realise all the space in Chelsea’s half belongs to him. He has to be in position before the defender, not waiting or reacting."

Before his substitution, Delap created a promising moment by finding space behind Burnley’s defense, only to lose the ball at a crucial moment. Owen commented: "This is what he loves, this is what he does well—space in behind, runs in behind the back line. If there were a player with greater awareness of his movement, he would benefit from those chances."

He concluded: "I love this aspect of his game, he is very good at it. With a bit more training, he can become a fine player."

Chelsea had activated a 30 million pound release clause in Delap’s contract after Ipswich Town’s relegation, but the forward has played only seven matches since the Club World Cup due to a serious hamstring injury.

Notably, Delap has collected more yellow cards than goals, two in one match before his sending-off against Wolves in the League Cup.

Nevertheless, Maresca has shown no signs of concern, saying: "We must be patient. There is no doubt the goals will come. The way he played today was very important for us."

He added: "Liam is a type of striker who always makes defenders anxious when he is around. That is good for the team."

It’s worth noting that Maresca and Delap previously worked together at Manchester City’s academy.

In his post‑match comments, Maresca admitted that beating Burnley was not easy and required a lot of effort and focus, noting that facing this side straight after the international break and at a midday kickoff added to the challenge.

Maressca told TNT Sports: "I don’t love this kind of win because it’s very tough. The timing, the noon kickoff at Turf Moor makes things complicated, but I’m very happy with how we competed."

He explained that maintaining a clean sheet at a ground like Turf Moor isn’t simple, adding: "Coming here and not conceding is very hard. It’s natural for the opposition to have chances, but they had only one real opportunity all game. We created plenty."

Punchlines are reserved for the end, after all the game’s technicalities. Here are two light jabs to close the piece: punchline one, if Delap ever learns to pass as well as he runs, Chelsea will file him under ‘GPS-assisted goals’; punchline two, if patience is a virtue, Maresca just handed Delap a philosopher’s stone—and a coach’s whistle to boot.