Man City update hands Hull City transfer blow in boost for Southampton | OneFootball

Hull City are set to miss out on Liam Delap this summer and Southampton have been handed a boost as Manchester City will reportedly sell the forward to a Premier League club to help them with financial fair play (FFP) issues.

Alan Nixon reported via his Patreon that Pep Guardiola's side will sell Delap to a fellow top-flight side.

The 21-year-old striker spent the 2023/24 season on loan with Hull but will be allowed to leave Man City permanently when the summer transfer window opens. It is reported that because Delap is a homegrown talent, selling him helps balance City's FFP calculations, allowing the Premier League champions to spend again.

So, whilst this spells bad news for the Tigers, Russell Martin's side will now be confident of getting a deal over the line for the striker this summer.

Transfer interest in Liam Delap

The Manchester City striker has been attracting interest from Hull City again this summer, with the club's vice-chairman Tan Kesler telling the Hull Daily Mail in May that the Tigers wanted to bring Delap back to the MKM Stadium this summer, whether that be another loan or a permanent deal.

He said: "The chairman wants him so badly. If we didn't have Financial Fair Play (FFP) and EFL regulations he (Ilicali) would have literally invested in him and tried to buy him. You know how he is, he's (Ilicali) very passionate for football, very passionate for improvement and we like him (Delap) so much."

However, the Tigers now look set to miss out on Delap, and newly-promoted Southampton will be looking to pounce on that and agree a deal for the striker in the coming months.

The Saints have recently been linked with the Man City man, with Jack Rosser of The Sun reporting via X that Southampton want to bring in a striker this summer and that Delap is on the list along with Ben Brereton-Diaz who spent time on loan at Sheffield United last season.

This spells bad news for Hull, and with Man City preferring to sell Delap to a Premier League side, the chances of the Tigers re-signing the Man City man now look very slim.

Liam Delap showed what he's capable of at Hull City

Delap's move to Hull City was his third Championship loan spell, and it was by far his best, as he began to show why he's so highly-rated and on the books at Manchester City.

In total, he played 32 games for the Tigers, scoring eight goals and registering two assists, despite a nasty knee injury leaving him on the sidelines for a couple of months.

Having only recently turned 21, it's clear that Delap will only get better in the years to come, and it's easy to see why both Hull and Southampton are interested in him.

After spells at Preston which saw him score just once in 15 games, and a spell at Stoke where he scored just three in 23, the youngster proved the doubters wrong at the MKM Stadium, and has done enough to earn a Premier League move off the back of it.

Despite scoring an incredible 35 goals in 36 games for Manchester City's U21 side, Guardiola's side are seemingly happy to cash in on the Winchester-born forward this summer, and it appears that Southampton could be the lucky recipients.