Will Man City regret selling Liam Delap? €45m buyout clause remains

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Next England No.9? 

©TM/IMAGO

All eyes will be on Erling Haaland when Manchester City take on Ipswich Town this afternoon but the striker at the other end of the pitch deserve some attention. Liam Delap departed his boyhood club in the summer to join the Premier League newsboys on a permanent basis and he’s been a revelation.

Ipswich are engulfed in a relegation battle but Kieran McKenna’s men have the best chance of the three promoted clubs of avoiding relegation. Ipswich paid Manchester City an initial €17.85 million to sign the talented striker and he’s delivered with eight goals in the Premier League. Delap was tipped for big things when emerging through City’s prestigious academy and could they live to regret cashing in like with Cole Palmer? Despite playing for a struggling side, Delap is the joint-fourth U21 goal scorer across the top five leagues and he’s been touted as a potential future England No.9. 

Liam Delap amongst the top U21 scorers in top five leagues

Delap’s all-round game has been hugely impressive since joining Ipswich and he’s a huge physical threat. The 21-year-old is still developing but he’s clearly flourishing with regular first-team football and he’s proven that he’s more than equipped to play top-flight football.

As the graphic below illustrates, Delap ranks joint third across the top five leagues for most goals from U21 players. The English striker is amongst esteemed company with German wonderkids Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz the only player to have scored more than Delap this season.  

Could Liam Delap become England’s future No.9?

Delap is a regular in the England U21 squad but he’s been tipped for a senior call-up for the November internationals. Thomas Tuchel will pick the next England squad and there’s a strong chance that Delap will be called up given his impressive form for the Tractor Boys. Harry Kane is England’s undisputed first-choice striker but he will turn 33 just after the next World Cup and there’s a relative dearth of young England strikers coming through the ranks. 

Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney were the two other natural strikers in the England squad for Euro 2024. Watkins remains second choice to Kane but he’s also 28, while Toney will likely no longer be considered after moving to Saudi Arabia. At just 21, Delap represents the future and his all-round game and physicality has been extremely impressive at Ipswich. After several indifferent loan spells, Delap is developing at an impressive rate and there’s similarities between Kane – who was famously a late developer. 

Is Liam Delap the next Cole Palmer for Manchester City? 

“He is a killer, a typical British striker, an incredible finisher. He has to improve when he drops and his first touch. He has a special quality. He is a different type of striker.” Pep Guardiola was effusive in praise for Delap in 2022 but he was never truly afforded a real chance in Man City’s first team. Delap was prolific for City at youth level but only played 170 minutes for the first-team, scoring one goal. 

It’s interesting, however, that City included a buy-back option – believed to be around €45m – when selling Delap this summer and that offers them future protection. While Guardiola has famously played without a striker regularly across his managerial career, Erling Haaland is the only natural first-team ready No.9 on City’s books. Internally, City will regret the decision to allow Palmer to join Chelsea while former academy stars Morgan Rogers and Jamie Gittens are delivering on their potential at Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund. Delap is proving that he possesses the required quality to play in the Premier League with Tottenham reportedly registering an interest. Whether City will activate their buy-back option in the future remains to be seen but Delap has enjoyed an excellent start and Ipswich and he’s been one of the best young strikers in Europe.