View: Liam Delap developments should see West Brom take action
Manchester City have detailed their plans for nursing striker Liam Delap back to fitness and it has dampened West Brom hopes of signing the teenager.
The 18-year-old, who has already scored for Pep Guardiola’s first team, had been linked with a move to the Hawthorns on loan [Express and Star] as a potential replacement for the injured Daryl Dike.
But the Manchester Evening News has now detailed the Citizens’ plans to keep Delap in Manchester where he can regain his fitness in the club’s academy before they hope he makes an impact on the first team.
It is a blow to West Brom’s transfer hopes but Delap isn’t the only striker on the club’s radar.
Dwight Gayle, Andy Carroll, Eddie Nketiah and Jermain Defoe are also mentioned by the Express and Star as potential alternatives to Dike who will miss the next eight weeks through injury.
Of those choices, you can have either an experienced, but old leading man, or a young and hungry individual keen to make his name in the Championship.
West Brom aren’t in a worrying position of being relegation-threatened so they do have the luxury of maybe getting a youngster who wants to play games.
Premier League clubs would give an arm and a leg to have their young talent gain experience at such a team and level so the Baggies could use their league status as leverage to get a deal for Delap done.
But Guardiola is usually a difficult man to persuade and if he wants Delap to stay, then stay he will.
Valerien Ismael still has a few days of the January transfer window left to bring in another attacker but he also wants another defender and at this point, he needs to get at least one through the door to ensure he has the time to complete the other.
In other West Brom news, this man-mountain of a striker is the latest to be linked with a move to the Midlands.