Stoke City sign Manchester City striker Liam Delap on season-long loan deal

Stoke City have signed Manchester City striker Liam Delap on a season-long loan deal.

The 19-year-old, who is the son of former Potters player and now first-team coach Rory Delap, has made six appearances for the Premier League champions in all competitions.

Delap was strongly linked with a host of English clubs this summer and was allegedly the subject of a £16m bid from Southampton at the end of last month.

However, Stoke have won the race for his signature with the youngster following in the footsteps of his father and current first-team coach Rory Delap, who made over 200 appearances for the Potters over a seven-year period.

Delap, who will wear the No.17 shirt, becomes Stoke’s ninth signing of the summer window and is the fifth to have joined on loan from a Premier League club after Harry Clarke from Arsenal, William Smallbone from Southampton, Gavin Kilkenny from Bournemouth and Tariqe Fosu from Brentford.

It’s done.

Welcome back to the bet365 Stadium, @liamdelap ⚡️

— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) August 18, 2022

The loan will provide the England Under-19 international with an opportunity to compete for regular first-team football, and to further build on the experience he has gained at City over the past two seasons.

Delap made his senior debut in September 2020, memorably scoring a superb goal in a 2-1 Carabao Cup third-round victory over Bournemouth.

He has gone to make five further first team appearances, making his Premier League bow against Leicester in September 2020, and a maiden FA Cup appearance against Birmingham in January 2021 before then being afforded his Champions League debut from the bench away to Sporting in February of this year.

The centre forward joined the Club from Derby County in the summer of 2018.

A powerful presence up front, with a trademark eye for goal, the teenager has trained regularly with City’s senior side over the past two seasons and his development has been further accelerated by his key role as part of our Elite Development Squad (EDS).

In 2020/21, Delap scored 20 goals from just 24 games as City’s EDS side secured a first-ever Premier League 2 title and his superb form was individually recognised with Liam being awarded the Premier League 2 Player of the Season prize.

Delap’s fine progress was then rewarded with a three-year contract extension in August 2021.

Though his progress was initially interrupted by injury last term, Delap, came back to register eight goals from 10 appearances in PL2 as City secured a second successive PL2 title.

He will now continue to develop at Stoke City and everyone at City wishes him the best of luck during his time with the Potters.