Football League World
·15 August 2022
Football League World
·15 August 2022
Stoke City are still hopeful of concluding a loan deal for Manchester City striker Liam Delap, reports John Percy of The Telegraph.
The 19-year-old has now been given the green light to head out on loan from the Premier League champions by manager Pep Guardiola, who now believes that the forward is too good to be playing for the under-21’s.
The signings of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez though have blocked Delap’s path to the first-team in the short-term though, and it looks likely that his next port of call will be the Championship.
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It was reported at the end of July by The Athletic that Stoke wanted to bring the teenager to the Bet365 Stadium, which would mean a link-up with his father Rory, who is a first-team coach at the club he used to play for in the Premier League.
But new interest has emerged, with divisional rivals West Bromwich Albion now seriously keen on signing Delap to bolster their forward line following an injury to Daryl Dike, Alan Nixon has reported.
Despite the rival links though, Stoke still believe they can finalise a move for the striker, especially now he has been allowed to depart Man City temporarily.
The Verdict
Despite already adding Dwight Gayle to their striking options this summer, giving them three very good Championship strikers when all fit, there’s a case to suggest that Delap is still needed at Stoke.
They have had a poor start to the season with the goals not flowing, and Delap’s arrival could light a fire under the current competition.
But if Michael O’Neill wants to potentially shift to a 4-3-3, then both Jacob Brown and Tyrese Campbell could be utilised as wider forwards, whilst Delap and Gayle fight it out for the central role.
Stoke will hope that the pull of Liam Delap’s father being at the club will make it work out, but you can never have any guarantees in football – and Delap himself may not want to work with his dad!