Liam Delap returned to the starting lineup for Stoke City on Saturday but failed to score as the Potters suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Rotherham United. The 19-year-old had been benched for City’s last two Championship games but started alongside Tyrese Campbell at the Britannia and played for 71 minutes.
Delap failed to score and was hooked midway through the second half, so it wasn’t the best return. The England U19 international had six shots against Rotherham without finding the back of the net, so Alex Neil wasn’t exactly vindicated in his decision to bring the striker back.
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Man City won’t be happy to hear how Delap’s stint in the Midlands is going either, as he’s scored just one goal from 11 Championship appearances this campaign. The chances of him dethroning Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez back in Manchester are slim too, so his long-term future is uncertain.
Delap is still only months into his first loan away from the Sky Blues, but he has stiff competition for playing time back at his parent club. Pep Guardiola already didn’t believe the 19-year-old was ready to be in City’s first-team, so he won’t be convinced Delap could challenge next season either.
There’s still plenty of the campaign to go and Delap could yet turn things around at Stoke, but he’s not doing himself any favours right now. One goal scored from 21 shots taken in the Championship is a far cry from the player that scored 11 goals from 17 games for the U18s and 35 goals from 36 games for the U23s.
In other news, Pep Guardiola tipped to drop Sergio Gomez indefinitely
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