Hull City must head to Man City and copy Jaden Philogene deal this summer: View | OneFootball

The surname 'Delap' should ring bells for many English football fans, with former Stoke midfielder Rory being famed for his unbelievable long throws.

However, with the more senior Delap now long retired, the name still lives on with his son Liam, who has been starring for Hull City this season.

Just this weekend, Delap Junior proved just how crucial he could be for Hull going forward into next season if they make a fresh move for his services, scoring the Tigers' second goal of the game in their 3-3 draw with promotion chasing Ipswich Town.

And should Hull be able to strike a deal with European champions Man City this summer, it would be reminiscent of the transfer they made with Aston Villa and Jaden Philogene last year - signing a young and exciting player that has no chance of breaking through at their parent club.

Jaden Philogene's development at Hull City

Jaden Philogene joined Hull from Aston Villa last summer for a fee of around £5 million, having been pursued by the Tigers for the majority of the 2023 summer window.

He had taken in loan experiences away from Villa Park before his permanent move away, with moves to Cardiff City and Stoke City, but neither had been immensely impressive.

At the Potters, he made only 11 appearances in a six-month spell between January and June 2022, scoring only once. In his full season with the Bluebirds in 2022/23, he would make 39 appearances across all competitions, scoring a bit more with five goals, but only assisting once.

Back at parent club Villa, Philogene was behind the likes of Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia in the pecking order and would have naturally seen Hull's interest as an invitation to help him develop and establish himself as a first-team quality player.

Since his move, he has starred brilliantly, becoming Hull's top scorer with 12 goals this season and laying on six assists too, and he is certainly serving as an inspiration for Delap as to why a move to Hull could help boost his career.

Can Hull City develop Liam Delap like Jaden Philogene?

Similar to Philogene, Liam Delap will find himself very much down the pecking order at parent club Manchester City this summer when he returns from his loan.

He will return behind superstars Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland, and despite good performances at the MKM Stadium this season, it is unlikely that Pep Guardiola will see him as a first-team player for the Premier League giants.

This will most likely mean that City will accept a fairly inexpensive fee for a player that Hull may feel can be realistic for them - much similar to the Philogene deal they pulled off.

Despite scoring only eight goals in the Championship this year for the Tigers, this has been Delap's highest scoring season professionally.

Personally, too, he has achieved a lot. He has made the step-up to under-21 level for England, and in his five caps so far this season, he has scored two and assisted two.

A permanent move, therefore, could prove beneficial for both parties.

If Delap improves upon his eight-goal return next season - should he join the Tigers on a permanent basis - there is no doubt he could fire them to being strong promotion contenders, and that would only help to boost his reputation, which is one that has been perhaps somewhat lost since his other loan stints away from Man City.

Delap could be Liam Rosenior's main man up-front for Hull City in 2024-25

Hull have not exactly been blessed with striking options up front this season. Rosenior has not found his ideal starter throughout 2023/24, switching between Delap, Aaron Connolly, January signing Noah Ohio, as well as midfielder Ozan Tufan in the recent draw with Ipswich.

Ohio is only on loan at the club from Belgian side Standard Liege, Connolly has been out of form for much of this second half of the season, and Tufan is a midfielder naturally - despite scoring 10 goals from an advanced position this season.

Given his impact, Hull should target Delap as the focal point for their team next year.

Delap has all the abilities to handle the Championship as he has finally started to prove this year, and is definitely versatile too, having been deployed on the right wing by Rosenior this term, meaning he can be a useful squad member going forward.

He would be the perfect, permanent man up-front for Hull next year if they fail to make an extremely late lunge into the play-offs, and can certainly do his career no harm if he chooses to play for the club where he has finally built some good career foundations.