Joao Pedro has been warned that Liam Delap is ‘confident’ of cementing himself as Chelsea’s No.1 striker ahead of the clash with Crystal Palace.
Chelsea host the Community Shield winners at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in their opening Premier League game of the 2025-26 season.
The Blues signed both Pedro and Delap in the summer transfer window, paying a combined total of £90m for the two strikers.
The two new signings both featured at the Club World Cup this summer, with Pedro, a £60m recruit from Brighton, impressively scoring three goals across three games.
Delap, meanwhile, who joined Chelsea in a £30m move from Ipswich Town, only scored once in six appearances at the tournament in the USA and Pedro looks set to be ahead of him in the pecking order.
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Since the Club World Cup, Chelsea have played two friendlies, with Delap starting the first one against German side Bayer Leverkusen.
Delap failed to get on the scoresheet and was replaced by Pedro in the 64th minute, with the Brazilian finding the back of the net after coming on.
Chelsea then played a pre-season match against AC Milan, with Pedro named in the starting XI and English striker Delap on the bench.
But Pedro blanked and Delap netted twice after being substituted on in the 60th minute and the English striker’s dad, Rory Delap, says his son is feeling confident ahead of his battle with Pedro for the main striker spot.
‘Liam is really enjoying his time at Chelsea,’ he said at the launch of Final One Standing by William Hill.
‘We watched a lot of the Club World Cup games in America and although we weren’t too sure about it at the start, it really grew in the later rounds and was a good competition.
‘The biggest thing for us is that Chelsea didn’t just go there to take part, they went there to win it.
‘That mentality suits Liam down to the ground because he wants to win trophies and be successful – that’s why he joined Chelsea.
‘Thankfully, he’s already won one early on, but hopefully there’s a lot more to come.
‘Liam has had a couple of moves already so he’s used to that process. It’s tough moving to a new club, no matter what standard you’re playing at.
‘But Chelsea were brilliant throughout the whole process, making him feel welcome and wanted.
‘Liam knows he’s going to have to compete for his place in the team and make it his own – he’s under no illusions about that.
‘That said, he’s confident in himself and we just hope both Chelsea and Liam can have a successful together.’