Former Chelsea midfielder Mikel John Obi says he expects Nicolas Jackson to start next season as the first-choice striker after revealing supporters wanted Victor Osimhen signed instead of Liam Delap.

Enzo Maresca hasn’t guaranteed Liam Delap a starting spot for Chelsea but backs the 22-year-old to be England’s number nine of the future.

Chelsea secured a 2-0 victorhy over LAFC in their FIFA Club World Cup 2025 fixture on 17 June, courtesy of goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez

New Chelsea striker Liam Delap has responded on Instagram after making his Chelsea debut and having a solid first appearance in blue. Chelsea beat Los Angeles FC 2-0 in their Club World Cup opening group game last night in what was a very strange and subdued atmosphere in front of just 22,000 people in a huge stadium.

John Obi Mikel backs Liam Delap to be a success at Stamford Bridge, but claims Chelsea fans wanted Victor Osimhen. Chelsea tried to sign Osimhen last summer, however, this time around, the Blues didn’t show much interest and instead signed Delap.

The topic came back to Delap later in the conversation, when an ESPN writer asked what Maresca had told Delap to try and persuade him to join – had he made promises about being first choice (hence getting the number 9 shirt usually reserved for the main striker of a team) or was he in a battle with Nicolas Jackson?

Chelsea begin our Club World Cup adventure with a matchup against MLS contenders Los Angeles FC, who are the replacement team for Club León. On paper, we are the favorites for this game — and for all our group games — but LAFC are in decent form and in the middle of their season and we’re practically on holidays after a long-long season.

However, something much less delicate, which happened just ten seconds into his debut, got Chelsea fans talking about Liam Delap during this FIFA Club World Cup encounter. The England U21 international showed supporters what he is all about after replacing Jackson, immediately letting the Los Angeles backline know he was there.

A former Premier League striker has found one fault with Liam Delap's debut performance against Los Angeles FC in the Club World Cup.