How human wrecking-ball Delap is thriving out of Haaland's shadow

If there is hope for Ipswich Town, then it comes in the sizeable frame of Liam Delap.

The Tractor Boys climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone without kicking a ball on Wednesday thanks to Wolves’ heavy defeat at Newcastle.

But having come up for air for just 24 hours, they dropped back into the bottom three on goals scored, behind Wolves, after being beaten 2-0 at home by Brighton. Second-half goals from Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter ended the Seagulls’ run of eight matches without a win.

Delap’s all-action performances, however, have given Ipswich genuine hope of survival.

When he is at his best – and his display in vanquishing Champions League-chasing Chelsea at the end of last month was as close to perfection as you will see – the 21-year-old is the unplayable target man bullying his way to the top of the game.

Where some strikers see a lost cause, Delap spots an opportunity to wreak havoc.

The son of former Stoke City midfielder Rory Delap, the sight of this fleet-footed striker with socks halfway down his shins, barging into defenders, is a throwback to yesteryear.

How Delap is spearheading survival push

Kieran McKenna, the Ipswich manager, has hailed the Manchester City academy graduate as a “different beast” to the player signed in July after mixed loan spells with Stoke, Preston and Hull.

So impressive has Delap been since signing a five-year contract with Ipswich last summer, a maiden England call-up may not be too far away. The player is already alerting potential suitors.

“He’s trying to improve every day and take on the challenge of playing in the Premier League,” McKenna said ahead of Ipswich’s Super Sunday visit of Manchester City, live on Sky Sports.

“I’ve spoken to him about taking on the challenge of leading a team because when you’re that number nine in a team that has come from where we’ve come from, it’s a lot of responsibility.

“He’s taking each day as it comes and not focusing any further than that. I think that’s exactly the right thing to do.”

There is a new meaning to the term being ‘Delaped’.

His father Rory made 358 Premier League appearances for Derby County, Southampton and Stoke. Brought up in a football family in Winchester, this is less long throws, more long legs.

Delap was at Derby when City spotted him as a teenager in July 2019 and saw his huge potential with the ball at his feet. His blistering pace and powerful centre-forward play led to his first professional contract a year later.

In the 2020/21 season, he made his first-team debut and scored in the Carabao Cup against Bournemouth.

The same campaign, he earned the Premier League 2 Player of the Year award, following 24 goals in 20 appearances – the most in one season by a player in the competition’s history – while guiding the club’s Under-21s to their first PL2 title success.

His talent has been known among English coaches for some time. Gary O’Neil’s tenure at Wolves came to an end after his side had been on the receiving end at Molineux.

Reflecting on the player’s role in Matt Doherty’s opening own goal last month, O’Neil said: “Liam Delap did that a lot when he played Under-18s against kids that were 2ft smaller than him, when he looked like he was playing two years up, bashing people out of the way and running through.

“But it’s not acceptable to concede that goal at Premier League level. Liam Delap won’t score that goal against any other Premier League team.”

An afternoon with Liam Delap…

Sky Sports News reporter Natalie Gedra:

Liam comes across extremely well and the thing that struck me the most was how open he was talking about Manchester City, and how he talks about Man City with a smile. He clearly enjoyed his time there. He made a lot of friends that he still carries and I really enjoyed how he brings a little bit of affection when he talks about his time there.

That was really heartwarming and also how excited he is, not only to be playing this match, but also after the interview when we were just chatting, how much he enjoys the way Ipswich play, how it’s a good fit for him and how much he enjoys working with the manager.

We spoke a few times about Kieran [McKenna] both on and off the interview and he really seems to be having a good time with this style of play and being very adaptable. They’re a clever team that can adapt to different circumstances and different opponents so I think that’s something that really helps him develop his football, but at the same time, he has space to express himself and express his talent.

So in this sense, it’s really good that he’s at Ipswich. With the Man City link, there’s no bad feelings of, ‘I wish Man City had done more for me to stay there’ or nothing. It’s as simple as I just wanted to play.

For him, it was very simple. And I think the fact that he saw other people going out and being successful just also really helped him. So even when I asked him, ‘what helped him to make this decision to leave?’ And ‘was it hard leaving Manchester City?’ He was just very to the point – ‘no, I’m young, I want to play.’

So for him, it’s as simple as that – and at the same time, I think he holds very dearly his spell at Man City and everything he learned there, how much he grew as a player. So it was really nice the way he spoke about Man City.

A throwback to an old-school centre-forward

Delap defied that belief by adding Chelsea to his hit list – but can he now add the scalp of his former club City?

Pep Guardiola isn’t surprised by the plaudits the striker is receiving.

“He’s doing really well,” said the manager in his press conference on Friday. “Many players came up from this academy. They are set up perfectly in the Premier League.

“When he was here, always we thought he was a typical striker for the Premier League. He’s doing really well and we’re happy for him.”

Long before slaying Chelsea, he was well-known to Blues head of recruitment Joe Shields and head coach Enzo Maresca from their time together in Manchester City’s academy.

Having cut his teeth in senior football lower down the footballing pyramid, Delap is the latest young talent to blossom at the elite level after progressing through City’s Elite Development Squad (EDS).

The EDS was established and then developed by Maresca to create a pathway from the club’s academy to the first team, with Phil Foden and Cole Palmer among those to break into Guardiola’s squad.

Speaking to Sky Sports back in 2021, former Manchester City youth coach Brian Barry-Murphy – who replaced Maresca as City’s EDS manager – admitted the club now “view it as a B team”.

“Previously they had seen it as an academy team. Enzo separated that – he put it beyond the academy and before the first team, where they were almost in transition,” Barry-Murphy said.

Selling EDS and non-first team players has generated more than £500m to the club since Guardiola’s 2016 arrival but offloading academy graduates for ‘pure profit’ looks rather foolish when the asset doubles in value within six months.

Morgan Rogers, one of the breakthrough stars of the season at Aston Villa, and Borussia Dortmund’s exciting 20-year-old Jamie Gittens, also spent time in the City system. Both will now be firmly on Thomas Tuchel’s radar.

Delap has followed Palmer in this regard having been signed for what now looks a snip at £20m.

Tuchel could quite conceivably field a front four of former City youth players in his first game as England boss against Albania, and they would not be out of place.

A knack of attacking the space

When it comes to Delap, Maresca had tipped his former Man City Under-23 striker to become an “important player” for the national team days before he produced a barnstorming display to clinch an eagerly-anticipated first top-flight home win in 22 years.

If that was a Chelsea audition, then it was passed with flying colours. A number of bigger clubs like what they have seen, but McKenna insists the warranted attention will not be on the old-school centre forward’s mind.

Delap has shifted the narrative on himself, but the striker has a level head on his broad, burly shoulders.

“I don’t really look at things like that,” he has said when asked about attracting transfer interest.

“I’m just focused on Ipswich. We are lucky to be playing in the Premier League. I think we’ve got a great opportunity here at Ipswich and we’re just trying to show our ability week in, week out, that is a big plus for me.”

Support cast needed to supplement survival bid

Delap has so often picked the right option, providing three assists alongside his eight goals but in order for Ipswich’s improvement to continue into this year, McKenna knows he must strengthen across a number of positions this month.

It will be welcome news to Delap that Town completed the signing of long-time target Jaden Philogene from Aston Villa on Tuesday for a fee in the region of £20m.

McKenna was keen on the forward last summer only for Villa to trigger a matching clause, having sold him to Hull in 2023. The manager is understood to still be in the hunt for more firepower to boost their chances of Premier League survival.

Philogene started four games in all competitions this season, and having the 22-year-old added to Ipswich’s attacking options eases the burden on Delap.

An over-dependence on one source for goals only becomes a problem when it is taken away. For now, McKenna can continue to wind up his human wrecking-ball and strike fear into opponents.

Watch Ipswich vs Man City on Sunday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 4.30pm

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