Stoke reach agreement with Manchester City to sign youngster on loan

At the weekend, Pep Guardiola confirmed his summer plans for a multitude of young talent.

Speaking to the press, he said: "We loaned Macca (James McAtee), Liam is in that process because we have Erling and Julian and he needs minutes.

"The EDS process has gone, is done [for Delap]. He has to try and go there and play and the other ones. Luke Mbete, Rico, Josh will be with us, tomorrow [Sunday] will play with second team and train with us every day."

His admission has sparked interest from a number of clubs around the Championship, keen to add a hungry and prolific striker to their ranks.

One of them club's was Vincent Kompany's Burnley, who has already poached CJ Egan-Riley and Taylor Harwood-Bellis from the Etihad Stadium this summer.

The former club captain said this week: "We are talking about a very young player so the last thing I want to do is start something.

"I think we are always looking at players who can strengthen our team but not every one of the players that get mentioned we can go for."

West Brom and Stoke City are the other two sides muted with interest in Delap, with Baggies manager Steve Bruce admitting their intent to bring him in earlier this week.

However, it seems like the latter has won the race for the talented 19-year-old.

According to David Ornstein from the Athletic, Stoke have reached an agreement with Manchester City to sign Liam Delap on loan this season, with no option to buy.

Ornstein adds that there was huge interest in the England U21 international, but he is set to have a medical at Stoke today ahead of completing a loan move.

🚨 EXCL: Stoke City have reached an agreement with Manchester City to sign Liam Delap on loan. Deal until summer 2023, no buy option. Medical taking place today. Huge interest in 19yo England youth international but #SCFC have won race @TheAthleticUK #MCFC https://t.co/8Khd5CmYE6

— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) August 17, 2022

The no option to buy will please the City supporters who see him as a future option in the first-team set-up.

With the signings of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, the Blues already have two 22-year-old talents up-front and game-time would be extremely limited for Delap.

This move allows him to show his talent on a weekly basis and force his way into Guardiola's plans upon his return.

After scoring a stunning goal on his senior debut against AFC Bournemouth, the striker has been riddled by injury issues and missed out on valuable minutes.

Especially last season, when City's lack of a natural striker would have afforded him the opportunity to impress.

He has dominated the goal scoring charts at EDS level, so it is now the perfect time to test himself amongst the physical demands of senior football.