Key reason emerges behind Stoke City beating West Brom to Manchester City loan agreement | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Bruce has revealed Stoke City coach Rory Delap’s influence had a huge say in the Potters winning the race for Manchester City forward Liam Delap, speaking to the Express and Star last night.

The 19-year-old was on the radar of both clubs, with the Baggies recently registering their interest after seeing two strikers in Daryl Dike and Kenneth Zohore both ruled out of action with injury troubles.

And according to journalist Alan Nixon, they were confident of being able to get this deal over the line with Bruce revealing they had pushed hard to try and strike an agreement.

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Stoke had been interested in the City youngster for some time after seeing him shine in the top-flight side’s academy, recording eight goals in 10 Premier League 2 appearances last term and being prolific for a number of years.

It was previously unclear whether a loan deal would be sanctioned with Pep Guardiola potentially wanting to keep him after seeing him appear for the first team last season.

But the decision has been taken to sanction a temporary exit and Albion manager Bruce believes the striker’s dad Rory, who also played for the Potters in the past, was a key figure in getting this deal over the line for the Staffordshire outfit.

He said: “It was the influence of his Dad.

“We tried, we did our best, there was nothing more we could of done and the boy chose to go to Stoke.

“It was the influence of his father, unfortunately for us.”

The Verdict:

This is no real surprise because Delap can confide in his father if times start to get tough at the bet365 Stadium and Rory will know Liam more than anyone else, so will probably know how to get the best out of him.

That can only be beneficial for his career and though many would argue it wouldn’t be beneficial for family members to work together, Tom Ince seems to be thriving under Paul Ince at Reading right now.

He may also be guaranteed more minutes at the bet365 Stadium with Michael O’Neill opting to play two up top, though his task of forcing one of Dwight Gayle or Jacob Brown out of the starting lineup won’t exactly be an easy one.

Tyrese Campbell is also available as an option, though Albion have Karlan Grant and Dike who can operate up top at The Hawthorns when both options are fit and with Bruce opting to play one up top, that could limit his game time.

In the short term, however, he probably would have been one of the first names on the teamsheet with Grant potentially starting on the left and Delap up top, so it will be interesting to see whether his choice to join Stoke will pay dividends.