Liam Delap set for Manchester City recall from Stoke City loan deal

Manchester City striker Liam Delap is expected to be recalled by the Premier League champions this month, midway through a season-long loan deal at Stoke City, according to reports.

The 19 year-old centre-forward made his first jump into senior men’s football ahead of the 2022/23 season, after an exemplary couple of season’s in Manchester City’s academy system following his move from Derby County.

Liam Delap also made his City debut under Pep Guardiola, scoring his first senior goal in a Carabao Cup victory over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium.

However, with the signings of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund and Julian Alvarez from River Plate, the England youth international’s pathway into the first-team squad was somewhat blocked, and subsequently development elsewhere in England was seen as the best possible option.

Life at Stoke City has been less than straightforward, with Delap having scored just three goals in 23 appearances across all competitions – a significant downturn from his 30 goals and six assists in 27 appearances for Manchester City and their academy squads in the 2020/21 campaign.

Those struggles have been noticed by those at City, and a new report suggests that Liam Delap could be relocated during the January transfer window, in an attempt to revive his natural goalscoring talents at another club.

This is according to the information of The Telegraph’s John Percy, who reports that Manchester City could now look to recall Liam Delap from his season-long loan at Stoke City this month.

It is reported that the Premier League champions’ plan would be to bring Delap back to the Etihad Stadium, but immediately loan him out for second-half of season, amid interest from a number of other clubs across the Championship.

While it was understood last summer that the player’s father played an important role in Liam Delap opting to join Stoke, Rory Delap’s departure from his role as a first-team coach this week is not related to City’s potential decision to relocate the striker.

Elsewhere, a number of other movements surrounding Manchester City’s academy talents have taken place this week.

Highly-rated left-back Josh Wilson-Esbrand has been sent on loan for the second-half of the ongoing season, with the 20 year-old joining Coventry City in the Championship – where he joins fellow Manchester City academy talent, Callum Doyle.

Cieran Slicker has also seen his season-long loan at Rochdale cut short by his parent club, as Manchester City are understood to be keen to relocate the young goalkeeper in search of greater game time than what was on offer at Spotland.