Following Manchester City's 4-1 victory over Fulham, boss Pep Guardiola was quick to praise young striker Liam Delap who came on for a cameo appearance in the second half.
The 18-year-old certainly made an impact when he was introduced into the game and was unfortunate not to grab a goal for himself too. Sadly the offside flag quickly scuppered what would have been a dream return for City.
Guardiola even described the forward as a "killer" post-match — high praise indeed from a manager of the Catalan's reputation.
Some City fans even took to social media to earmark Delap as an alternative to Erling Haaland but perhaps putting all hopes on the academy product at this point would be a little premature.
Currently, Man City's options up front in the 2022/23 campaign are extremely limited, especially for a side that wants to battle in all competitions.
When it comes to 'out-and-out' strikers at the Etihad, Guardiola will have a choice of Gabriel Jesus, Liam Delap and Julian Alvarez, once he arrives back from his loan spell at River Plate.
The addition of Haaland might not be completely essential — especially given City haven't had a striker at all this season — but his quality could take City to the next level.
Fixtures will come thick and fast next season if the Citizens are lucky enough to be progressing well in domestic and European competitions.
So a deep squad is needed to deal with the demands of 21st century, top-tier football.
It's easy to see why parallels have been drawn between between Delap and Haaland — their stature and style of play is very similar — while it's clear that Guardiola is on the look-out for this type of striker following his pursuit of Harry Kane in the summer.
City fans should not be concerned though that the arrival of Haaland would spend the end for the academy graduate.
In fact, the Norwegian's signature would likely improve the teenager. By being in the same environment as a talisman like Haaland, Delap would be able develop his own game while learning from one of the best in world football.
Delap is certainly capable of leading the line for City one day in the future.
His successful return from injury and his obvious quality is a blessing for Guardiola, but if City truly want to flourish on the European stage they need to add a proven world class striker to their ranks.
The 18-year-old is just not quite there. Yet.
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