Jamie Carragher believes Liam Delap made a mistake joining Chelsea and says he must have signed for one more Premier League club as a substitute.
Delap, 23, has scored only one league goal for Chelsea since his £30m move from Ipswich Town last summer.
Plenty of clubs expressed interest in signing Delap, who hit double figures within the Premier League last season despite playing for relegated Ipswich.
Manchester United were near signing Delap before the previous Manchester City striker was keen to maneuver to Chelsea.
Carragher says joining Chelsea was a ‘bad move’ for Delap because the ‘jump’ from Portman Road to Stamford Bridge was ‘too big’.
‘It was a foul move. Truthfully, it was a foul move going to Chelsea,’ Liverpool legend and ex-England defender Carragher said on the Persist with Football podcast.
‘I just think young players, when they’re on a journey and recuperating… the jump from Ipswich and Chelsea was too big, he needed somewhere in the center.
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‘Somewhere like Everton. If you happen to play centre forward for Everton and play every game and know even when you’ve gotten a number of bad games you’re still going to play.
‘Whereas at Chelsea he’s never sure he’s going to play, even when he starts. Sometimes the jump is simply too big, you wish that team in the center.’
Delap is behind fellow Chelsea summer signing Joao Pedro within the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.
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Ex-England striker Emile Heskey believes Delap must ‘improve his hold-up player’ to develop into a greater player but remains to be backing him to ‘come good’.
‘Liam Delap must focus on improving his hold-up play,’ Heskey told aGamble. ‘It’s such a very important asset since it affects how your teammates play with you.
‘They desire a striker who they might be confident in firing the ball into, knowing it’ll stick. I believe Delap must concentrate on that and spend more time on it.
‘It’s difficult, though, because loads of the time people only care about goals and assists, but I still imagine overall play may be very essential for him.’
Heskey also disagrees with Carragher’s assessment that Delap was incorrect to hitch Chelsea.
He added: ‘Despite this, I believe he was right to maneuver to Chelsea in the summertime. He believes he’s adequate to play for a top club, so he was right to take the chance.
‘He understands the pressure that comes with playing for such a giant club because he was within the Manchester City academy and that can help him.
‘He just needs to seek out his feet, and which will take until next season. I believe he’ll come good.’
Delap got here on as a late substitute in Chelsea’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Leeds United on Tuesday night.
The Blues, currently fourth within the Premier League, return to motion on Friday with an FA Cup clash against Liam Rosenior’s former club Hull City.
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