Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Alex Brotherton

Liam Delap told Erling Haaland arrival shouldn't impact his decision on Man City future

Liam Delap is a wanted man this summer, but the young striker has been told to stay at Manchester City for the time being.

The 19-year-old burst onto the first-team scene in 2020 when he scored on his senior City debut in a Carabao Cup win against Bournemouth. Since then he has made five more appearances for Pep Guardiola's side, but a string of injuries last season prevented him from staking a claim for more minutes.

The former Derby County youth player was part of City's pre-season tour of the US this summer along with fellow U23s stars Cole Palmer and James McAtee, but with City adding both Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez to their striking department this summer, the youngster could find minutes at the Etihad hard to come by.

READ MORE: Erling Haaland is mixing Zlatan Ibrahimovich with Oleksandr Zinchenko to fill Man City voids

Last week City rejected a £16m bid for Delap from Southampton, who have already signed youngsters Romeo Lavia and Gavin Bazunu from the club this summer.

The Blues are open to loaning out Delap for the 2022/23 season but are reluctant to let him go on a permanent basis. The opportunity to go out on loan and play regular football might be a tempting one, but according to Paul Robinson, it is one that Delap would be better off turning down.

"As a youngster at Man City, you know what you are in for," Robinson told Football Insider. "He got minutes on the pitch last year. Delap is a player with real potential who I believe can break into the first team. I think he’ll get more game time than last year if he stays.

"It is up to him though as to whether he needs football week in, week out now. I don’t think now is the time to be knocking on doors asking to leave the club. He should hold off."

Delap signed a three-year contract extension last summer, meaning that his current terms at City last until 2026.

ALSO READ:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.