Chelsea striker curse laid bare with £550m spent, can Delap finally break it?

OVER the last 22 years Chelsea have spent almost £550million on strikers — but only a handful have proven to be a success.

The No9 shirt has been "cursed" at Stamford Bridge and nobody has worn the number since flop Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang departed two years ago with one league goal to his name.

Liam Delap is next to fill the centre-forward boots, arriving for £30m from Ipswich.

But despite the 22-year-old's talent shining through in a relegated side, there are no guarantees he will end the club's long-standing nightmare.

It dates back to 2003 when Adrian Mutu arrived for £15.8m from Parma.

The Romanian managed just six Premier League goals before he was released following a positive test for cocaine.

Since then, the likes of Hernan Crespo, Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres have all failed to match expectations after joining for massive fees.

In more recent times, Alvaro Morata and Timo Werner have been added to the long list of big-money mistakes.

Romelu Lukaku has cost Chelsea a total of £117.5m, taking into account his two spells at Stamford Bridge.

And in his 36 league matches, the Belgian hit the back of the net a disappointing eight times at a rate of £14.7m per Prem goal.

The difficulties also stretch to loan signings like Radamel Falcao, Alexandre Pato and Gonzalo Higuain.

They managed just seven goals between them before the club happily showed them the exit door.

Even away from centre-forwards, the "cursed" No9 shirt usually worn by goalscorers went to others like midfielder Steve Sidwell and defender Khalid Boulahrouz.

Success stories are hard to find with the £24m deal for legend Didier Drogba and the £32m splashed on cult hero Diego Costa among the few that have not been weighed down by the pressure of leading the line for the Blues.

But Delap has the ability to join them in becoming a Chelsea hero.

His movement is exceptional, he links up play well and boasts the pace to stretch the pitch.

The Blues risk becoming predictable in Enzo Maresca's structured approach and when Nicolas Jackson was out injured, the team struggled for goals and an outlet.

But Delap is also a provider, creating 21 chances for his Ipswich team-mates on top of his 12 goals for a side that hit the back of the net just 36 times all season.

BBC pundit Danny Murphy believes Delap can be Harry Kane's England successor, saying: “I think he’s the best young English striker out there.

"I know he’s got a bit to learn, and wisdom comes with experience and game time in this league, but he’s got all the attributes to be a top international player.

“I just don’t see a weakness for him. He’s scored enough goals in a struggling side, really, but he gets a lot of chances and he’ll score more.

“He’s just got that lovely balance between physical and technical. Rarely you get both. He’s really just super talented."