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Man City youngster tipped to leave as he ‘needs to play games’

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Liam Delap could be on his way out of Manchester City this summer as Stoke City are closing in on a season-long loan move and Tom Barclay of The Sun believes it ‘makes sense’ to leave for a year as he ‘needs to play games’ for the sake of his development.

Delap has Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez standing in his way of getting playing time under Pep Guardiola, so the 19-year-old is better off leaving for regular first-team football. Southampton and Newcastle United made approaches that were rebuffed, so Stoke could be landing his signature.

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Barclay told Give Me Sport: “Delap does feel like someone that is gettable this summer because his chances are going to be limited at Man City. He’s also had injuries; he needs to go out and play games.

“You would think a loan would make most sense, but if City can get a good fee for him and include a buy-back clause, then that makes sense as well.” City have no intention of selling Delap as they believe in his potential. It’s why Southampton and Newcastle’s offers were turned down.

The 19-year-old scored 10 goals with seven assists from 16 games for the U18s and scored 35 goals with nine assists from 36 games for the U23s, so he’s ready to play senior level football. But Guardiola signed Haaland and Alvarez to take turns leading the line, so Delap is unlikely to feature heavily.

If Stoke can guarantee the England U19 international more opportunities, it makes sense to move. And if all goes well, Delap could be battling for first-team football back at City next year. He just needs a club lower down the pyramid to showcase his talents.

In other news, Liam Delap nears Man City exit with Stoke in ‘advanced talks’

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.