The reaction to Liam Delap's transfer to Chelsea from Ipswich Town will be full of optimism as a homegrown striker looks to lead a club who returns to the Champions League scene in the summer. From being Championship-bound to the top table of European football, it is no mean feat and Delap will have to adjust quickly. Clearly, this is something Enzo Maresca is keen on happening given how the club wanted Delap to prioritise the Club World Cup over England international duties this summer and when you look at what he has produced last season it is obvious to see why. His 14 goal involvements - 12 of those hitting the back of the net himself - were not enough to keep Ipswich Town in the Premier League but were enough to convince many top-flight suitors to try and sign him this summer. His out-and-out approach shows he is keen to spearhead the attack but also offers opportunities to drop down and start attacks from deeper spaces - statistically he is easily one of the best carriers of the ball last season in the Premier League too. His boldness to choose the number 9 shirt shows a lot of belief in his character especially when no one elected to wear it last season when it was vacated by Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang who joined Marseille two years ago. The reason? Well many Chelsea fans believe it is cursed. There has not been a solid and consistent number 9 at Chelsea since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink wore the shirt - that even predates the Roman Abramovich era. Of course, it does not mean the Blues have not enjoyed their fair share of sensational strikers as you just need to look at Didier Drogba throughout much of that time but alas he never donned the number 9 shirt. During Hasslebaink's time at Stamford Bridge he scored 69 Premier League goals in 136 appearances during his four season stint at the club which ended in the summer of 2004 and was the last Chelsea number 9 to win the Golden Boot back in 2000/01 with 23 goals. Since then, 12 players have worn the number 9 shirt with a total contribution of 61 goals in 306 league appearances. There are some honourable mentions which we can forgive over that point. Jose Mourinho thought it was wise to give Khalid Boulahrouz, a defender who once joked he can play striker in a press conference, and Steve Sidwell, a midfielder, to wear the number during their stints at the club scoring exactly zero in 28 appearances - an expected return given their roles. However, there are some where you would expect more from - a lot in fact! Mateja Kezman and Hernan Crespo - both of whom joined in Abramovich's first transfer window in August 2003 for a combined £22 million - contributed just 14 goals in 44 combined league appearances. After Boulahrouz and Sidwell, the number was given to Franco Di Santo, a promising forward with plenty of give and a popular signing on Football Manager in that time but zero goals in eight league appearances was hardly the bar to meet from someone described as a "wonderkid" in my Juventus save. Chelsea fans had to wait just over five years for another number 9 to score in the Premier League after Crespo's last goal against West Ham United in April 2006. Up stepped Fernando Torres, for a then league record £50 million transfer fee from Liverpool. He converted against West Ham too after going nine consecutive matches without a goal in the league - his worst drought at the time - and then never scored again that season. Torres could only manage another 19 league goals in 96 league appearances and was wildly labelled the most expensive flop during his tenure at Stamford Bridge despite winning the FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League in that time. Attention then turned to another Atletico Madrid legend in Falcao - that is now three former Atleti players since Hasselbaink - where the writing was on the wall if his loan spell at Man United in 2014/15 was anything to go by. He managed just four goals in 26 league appearances for the Red Devils before producing an even worse return at Stamford with just one goal in 10 appearances for the Blues. Chelsea then turned to the other team in Madrid and recruited the services of Alvaro Morata who scored 15 times in 26 La Liga appearances for Real in 2016/17 after a two year loan-spell at Juventus. He became the first number 9 to produce double figures in the Premier League with 11 in 31 appearances for the Blues but then handed the number over to incoming Gonzalo Higuain the following season - five from 14. Tammy Abraham was part of a Chelsea squad under a transfer embargo and placed in the hands of club legend Frank Lampard. He surpassed Hasselbaink's goal tallies in the Dutchman's last two seasons with 15 goals in 34 appearances for the Blues as they secured a top-four place before Abraham was dropped ahead of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner. Abraham, who just finished his loan spell at AC Milan from Roma, managed another six in 22 league appearances before he went to Serie A. In football, they say you should never go back, whoever said that forgot to tell Romelu Lukaku who rejoined the club after seven seasons away from Stamford Bridge. Lukaku had just come from Inter Milan where he scored 47 times in 72 Serie A appearances and completed back-to-back 30 goals each season in all competitions. His loan spells at West Brom and Everton - before turning it into a permanent move at Goodison Park - were enough to show he was proven at that level before his big money move to Man United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw him score 28 times in 66 league appearances. The curse continued - eight in 26 - before Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang's cameo saw one league goal in 15 appearances. So there we have it, one or two semi-good seasons as a Chelsea number 9 for the vast majority of this century. The bar is extremely low for Liam Delap to meet but the way he did not hesitate to grab the vacant number shows not just confidence in himself but mostly stubbornness. The perfect ingredient to become a great number 9. Gamble responsibly Reach plc is committed to promoting safer gambling. All of our content and recommended bets are advised to those aged 18 or over. Odds are subject to change too. We strongly encourage our readers to only ever bet what they can afford to lose. For more information, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit gambleaware.org.