Shaun Wright-Phillips has told Goal that Liam Delap could show Manchester City they do not need a ‘big money’ striker signing if Pep Guardiola offers the forward his breakthrough.
The Citizens spent much of the summer pursuing Harry Kane, but did not tempt Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy to sell. That’s despite the Independent reporting the Etihad Stadium natives were prepared to bid £150m. A figure long-touted as Levy’s valuation, per The Sun.
Reports by ESPN also touted Bayern Munich’s goalscoring machine Robert Lewandowski as an alternative at the start of the summer. While Bild recently cited Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland as an option for 2022 once his €75m (£64.5m) release clause activates.
But Wright-Phillips believes Delap can show Manchester City they do not need to spend big on a striker next year. The former Citizens winger feels he has the potential to plug the gap in Guardiola’s plans that Sergio Aguero left.
“You never know with Pep and what he wants to do in terms of his transfer targets,” he said. “But they do have a young lad doing really well at the club currently in Liam Delap.
“He’s been impressive so far and you never know, he could get his chance and do whatever he needs to do to stop City going out and buying a striker for big money.”
Can Delap save Manchester City millions, like Wright-Phillips suggests?
Gabriel Jesus is Guardiola’s only recognised senior striker after Aguero joined Barcelona at the end of his contract. Yet Delap has not featured in any of Manchester City’s matchday squads so far this season, despite Wright-Phillips’ endorsement.
Delap also scored Manchester City’s opening goal against Bournemouth during his first-team debut in the Carabao Cup last September. Guardiola rewarded the 18-year-old’s efforts with his Premier League bow against Leicester three days later.
But the England U18 international has only played once more for the Spaniard since, across all competitions. He played the final 15-minutes of City’s FA Cup win over Birmingham on January 10. Delap has not featured in any of Guardiola’s squads since January 17, either.
Delap will hope his efforts with Manchester City’s U23s that earned Wright-Phillips’ backing can convince Guardiola to offer further chances. He has scored 28 goals over just 25 youth-level appearances so far, including one in his only outing this term.
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