Quickly integrate into the system, Drapp won praise for his debut! Chelsea has finally found the real No. 9

Before the first round of the 2025 Club World Cup group stage, the Guardian said that Chelsea's goal is not only to compete for the championship and the forward-looking £97 million prize, but also to run-in the lineup.

In the 2024-25 season, Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League championship and the Premier League finally qualified for the Champions League with a fourth place, but obviously they will not be satisfied with this. Before the start of this Club World Cup, Chelsea introduced 22-year-old England center Drapp, with a transfer fee of only 35.5 million euros. The player had previously played for Ipswich, who had been relegated to the Premier League, but it does not mean that his level is not good.

Drapp is Manchester United's number one target, but failed to compete with Chelsea. In the 2024-25 season, Drapp played 37 games for Ipswich, contributing 12 goals and 2 assists, and his name was not found in the top ten Premier League scorers list. But it depends on which team he plays for. Ipswich's team scored only 36 goals in one season, and Drapp contributed one-third, and was only the second scorer of Liverpool. Recently, it was rumored that Barcelona is preparing to introduce a lot of money, just scored one goal less.

When I came to Chelsea, Drapp took over the No. 9 jersey, which made me feel sad. From Torres in 2011 to Aubameyang in 2022, Chelsea has experienced the "No. 9 Curse" for more than ten years. Before wearing the Chelsea No. 9 jersey, they were almost all famous players in the world in football, much more famous than Drapp, who is currently only worth 40 million euros. Before Drapp came, Chelsea's main center was Jackson. Jackson wore a No. 15 jersey. In the 2024-25 season, Jackson only scored 10 goals in 30 Premier League games, which is not as good as midfielder Palmer (15 goals). As the main center of the Premier League giants, such data is obviously far from qualified.

For Drapp and Chelsea, what is more important than breaking the "No. 9 Curse" is whether they can be competent for the main center.

In the match against Los Angeles FC, Chelsea started 4231, center Jackson, Maduaike, Palmer, Neto on the forward line, double midfielder Kesedo and Lavia, four defenders Cucurella, Colville, Adarabioyu, Zamus, goalkeeper Sanchez. Jackson, who started the game, was silent. In the 64th minute, Drapp came on as a substitute to replace Jackson and completed his first career debut in Chelsea.

In the 80th minute, Drapp received a pass from Palmer from the right, assisted Enzo with a cross from the bottom, helping Chelsea to secure the victory 2:0.

Drapp said in an interview after the game: "It is very important to be able to help the team, but I also want to score some goals! It is always beneficial to have a position competition, and that is football. This is a great club, you need to grow in the competition."

teammate Enzo, coach Maresca, was praised for Drapp's debut. Maresca said: "I am quite satisfied with Drap's performance. Drap's advantage is that he is familiar with our tactical system, so the adaptation process is very fast, which is good for both of them (Drap and Essugo)."