Manchester City accept two eight-figure bids from Premier League clubs for Liam Delap

Transfer officials at Manchester City have accepted two bids for highly-rated Academy striker Liam Delap from Premier League clubs, it has been reported.

The England international striker returned from a season-long loan deal with Hull City where he excelled under the work of now former club coach Liam Rosenior in a campaign that saw the forward and his teammates narrowly miss out on the promotion places.

However, with the player’s pathway into Pep Guardiola’s plans blocked by the likes of Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland in attack for Manchester City, a permanent exit from the Etihad Stadium has been widely earmarked this summer.

City have been fielding a number of approaches during the opening weeks of the season, but it now appears as though a conclusion over the player’s future is close to completion, with two bids having been accepted by the Premier League champions.

That was first according to the information of BBC Sport’s Simon Stone and Nick Mashiter, both Ipswich Town and Southampton have had bids that could rise to £20 million accepted by Manchester City for striker Liam Delap.

At the moment, it is pointed out within the same report that Ipswich are front-runners for the player’s signature.

Additional reporting from The Athletic’s David Ornstein has pointed out that Ipswich have agreed an initial £15 million deal for the 21-year-old, with a further £5 million due in potential add-ons, and a medical has been scheduled for Wednesday.

However, as highlighted by the BBC, Manchester City have agreed a similar deal with Southampton, and the final decision on the destination of the striker will be left up to the player.

As is usually common place in Manchester City exits for Academy talents, the Manchester Evening News’ Simon Bajkowski reports that both accepted bids for Delap include a 20 per cent sell-on and buy-back clause in the agreements.

Liam Delap was first signed by Manchester City from Derby County as a scholar in the summer of 2019, making an immediate impact for the club at Under-18 level whilst showcasing a blistering level of speed and powerful, traditional number nine play.

Having progressed into the club’s Elite Development Squad for the 2020/21 campaign, as well as training regularly with the first-team, Delap went on to make his first-team debut in September 2020 by scoring in the Carabao Cup third round against Bournemouth.

Claiming the Premier League 2 Player of the Year award following 24 goals in 20 appearances in a title-winning season at the end of the same season, Liam Delap would emerge as one of the most exciting and in-demand players in English youth football.

Debuts in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League would follow, before first steps at senior level club football would be sanctioned through successive loan agreements at Stoke City, Preston North End, and most recently, Hull City.