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On-loan Man City player underwhelmed in Saturday’s defeat [Opinion]

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Stoke City suffered a 2-0 defeat to Coventry City on Saturday afternoon and Liam Delap didn’t manage to turn the game around when introduced.

The 19-year-old was benched by Alex Neil in favour of Dwight Gayle leading the line, but he was brought on midway through the second half as the Potters were chasing two goals.

Delap had just two touches in his 18 minutes on the pitch, however, so he’s not doing enough to prove his worth right now.

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The England youth international was loaned out to Stoke City for more playing time as Pep Guardiola didn’t deem him good enough to stay in Manchester City’s first-team after Erling Haaland was signed and Julian Alvarez brought back from Argentina.

Sadly, Guardiola’s assessment of Delap looks accurate as he’s not having a good time at the Britannia Stadium. The 19-year-old has made 12 Championship appearances for Stoke, scoring just one goal. He’s been benched for three of City’s last four league games due to his poor form and did very little against Coventry.

Delap failed to complete a pass, failed to register a shot, failed to create a chance, failed to whip in a cross, failed to win an aerial duel, failed to turn over the ball, gave away one foul, was dispossessed once and had one unsupported touch.

In other news, Pep Guardiola will be delighted with Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ form on loan

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He joined from Newcastle in 2000 and left to join FC Sochaux in 2003

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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.