Manchester City academy graduate, Liam Delap, will be in-demand by a lot of clubs in the upcoming summer transfer window.
While Delap remains a top talent in the world of football, the Englishman is yet to live up to his potential. Injuries plagued Delap compromising his promising start at City. Delap made his first team debut in 2020.
A recap of Liam Delap’s emerging career!
The youngster began his youth career with Derby County in 2009. Followingly, the Englishman joined the Citizens in 2019 after a decade with Derby County. Additionally, Delap started his international career from England’s U16 squad in 2018.
After making his senior debut in 2020, an injury ridden Delap was loaned out to Stoke City in 2022. He managed to make 23 appearances for Stoke. Immediately, City recalled Delap from Stoke and Preston North End made a short-term loan deal for the striker.
Finally, in 2023, Delap joined Hull City on a season long loan. The striker scored 8 goals in 32 appearances for Hull City. Delap’s stint with The Tigers proved to be impressive. Moreover, the fans want to see more of Delap next season.
However, the ball is now in Manchester City’s court. Since, Liam Delap has a contract with the Citizens until 2026.
Manchester City’s illustrious success with academy graduates!
Manchester City have enjoyed a lot of success with academy graduates over the past decade. Especially, since the building of their state-of-the-art training ground, the City Football Academy.
Since the acquisition of Sheikh Mansour, no academy player had gone on to play first team football for Manchester City. However, that was the case until the building of City Football Academy.
Since the establishment, City have gone on to produce fine academy graduates. One of their exemplary talents is Phil Foden. The Englishman is merely 24 years old and has already won 6 premier league titles! In fact, Foden was just named of the Premier League Player of the Season. The midfielder was crucial in City’s road to the record-breaking Premier League quadruple.
Rico Lewis has been another revelation for Pep Guardiola this season. The young academy graduate was in good touch the entire season and made a name for himself at the Etihad.
City’s academy: A profitable business model
Manchester City have earned tremendous amount of money through player sales. Especially, because of their academy players. City have gained more than £260 million selling young players. This not only paid off the cost of building the academy itself but has generated massive profits for the Citizens.
In 2022 alone, City pocketed £156 million through youth player sales. Needless to say, this profit acts as further ammunition for Guardiola to strengthen his squad. For instance, the signing of Erling Braut Haaland for £51.2 million proved to be absolutely critical for the Citizens.
Moreover, City’s academy is ensuring the bright future of England’s national team. 10 players called up for England’s U21 upcoming Euro 2025 were associated with the academy. Additionally, 4 of the players led the Young Lions to the Under 21 European Championship title.
Hull City ‘badly’ want to retain Delap
Tan Kesler, the Vice-Chairman, Hull City has confirmed that Hull City want Delap for another season. The Tigers will be ironing out the details with City and are open for further discussions.
Kesler spoke about the Chairman’s wish to retain Delap. He stated:
“The chairman wants him so badly.
If we didn’t have Financial Fair Play and EFL regulations he [Chairman Acun 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.”
With 2 years remaining on his contract, City could be open to Delap leaving but for a reasonable amount. Nevertheless, if City choose to let Delap go, they will surely be keen to make as much profit as possible and invest it further.
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