Liam Delap: Ipswich striker's rise from goal-shy loan spells to England contention
2025-01-19
Category: sports

Two seasons ago Liam Delap was scoring four goals across a whole Championship campaign.Now his Premier League form for Ipswich is leading to suggestions he could make his England breakthrough soon.The 21-year-old has scored eight league goals this season since his Â£20m move from Manchester City - and faces his old team on Sunday."He has got a bit of everything in his game," said BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton."He can handle himself physically and he has got a brilliant touch too. The best thing about him, though, is that he is pretty fearless."If you play that role, you have got to have all the attributes as a number nine for whatever your team need. You have got to be able to run in behind as well as hold it up, and he has a really nice balance to his game."BBC Sport looks at Delap's rapid rise and where he can go from here.
Goal struggles but still highly rated
England youth international Delap came through the Derby County academy before joining City as a 16-year-old.He would go on to score 35 goals in 36 games for City's under-21 team, including three in four in the EFL Trophy against senior lower-league teams.He played six times for the City first team - twice in the Premier League - but for only a total of 170 minutes, scoring on his debut against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup.So the next obvious step was some loan experience in the Championship.Delap joined Stoke City on a season-long loan in August 2022, linking up with his father Rory, who was a first-team coach there.But he netted only three times in 23 games and left the club in January when Rory left his coaching role."It's his first loan. I'm pretty sure that he'll go on and he'll become a really good player," said then Stoke manager Alex Neil.Almost immediately Delap joined Preston on loan until the end of the season, but scored only once in 15 appearances, with six starts."His attitude and application on a daily basis has been different class to work with. He's a great kid. He'll learn from these loan spells he's had," said North End manager Ryan Lowe.
Delap becomes a 'beast' at Man City
Delap enjoyed more joy in 2023-24 in the second tier when he netted eight goals in 32 games for Hull City - twice his combined total for Stoke and Preston.That was despite missing three and a half months - from January until April - with a knee injury.In December, before that injury, Hull manager Liam Rosenior called him "a special, special talent"."He can play anywhere on the pitch, he's that good. He's naturally a number nine. He's a number nine with a lot of technical and physical capabilities and speed," Rosenior said."It's scary, his potential and ability."Delap went back to Manchester City for rehab while he was injured, and BBC pundit Steph Houghton, who was the club's Women's Super League captain at the time, met him and was hugely impressed."The time I saw him closely was more of the rehab time. That's when you see someone and think they have got the mentality and the drive to get somewhere. From what I saw, he definitely had that," said Houghton."He had been smashing it at Hull, playing really well. He was devastated."Everyone at City knew that he had potential, just because of his physique. He was always a different striker to everyone else that's been at City. He just had a presence and was always stronger than everyone."When he came back and did his rehab, from a physical point of view, Liam just turned into an absolute beast."He is having a great season now and I don't think that's a coincidence, from seeing him work day in, day out."By the time Delap returned to Hull there were only five games of the season left. He played in all of them, scoring once - in a 3-3 draw with Ipswich - as the club narrowly missed out on the play-offs.Hull were interested in signing him permanently but the Premier League was calling.
Delap's big Premier League breakthrough
Manchester City were willing to sell Delap - and in the summer he chose to join Ipswich, instead of Southampton, for an initial Â£15m with Â£5m in potential add-ons."Things go quickly in football," Delap told BBC Football Focus in December. "I spoke to (manager) Kieran McKenna and that put my head straight. I wanted to come and play."I didn't want to go somewhere I didn't feel I'd play and develop. I felt here gave me best chance to develop and become a better player. You have a gut feeling and have to trust your judgement."Delap has enjoyed an impressive opening half of the season, establishing himself as a player who belongs in the top flight.His eight league goals in 20 games this season is more than any Arsenal player has managed, for example. Erling Haaland is the only City player to score more this season."Another thing I really like about him is that he is aggressive," said ex-Norwich striker Sutton. "He banjos defenders out of the way. He can back in, he can link up and he can finish too."Signing him was really smart business by Ipswich because they saw something in him that others maybe didn't."He is still so young too. He turns 22 at the start of February and this is his first season in the Premier League."Look at some of the other number nines having really good seasons - Alexander Isak at Newcastle or Chris Wood at Nottingham Forest - and they have a lot more experience than he does."Houghton added: "If you can get someone who can be as strong and as powerful as he is, who can hold the ball up and give your team a break... Ipswich need someone like that."Now the goals have come - and they certainly have - you can see he just oozes confidence."Even when he is unlucky - like he was with a couple of efforts against Manchester United a few weeks ago - he keeps getting in positions to score."He has got that finisher's instinct to read the game and be in the right place, and it doesn't matter what kind of chance it is because he can head a ball too."Delap said: "My performances are getting better game by game. I always believed I could. I know I'm good enough. It's about being more consistent."
Other clubs watching... and Tuchel?
Delap's form will no doubt be of interest to new England manager Thomas Tuchel, who names his first squad in March."We're not blessed with English strikers and there's no doubt Thomas Tuchel will have a good look at him," said ex-England striker Alan Shearer on BBC Match of the Day.Rory was a Republic of Ireland international - and Liam has been contacted by the Irish set-up - but, having chosen to play for England at youth level, there will likely be no dilemma for him."When I set out I always wanted to play in the Premier League and represent my country," said Delap, who was born in Winchester."It's an honour to play for your country. I just let the football do the talking. If it comes, it comes, and if it doesn't I just keep working."City are thought to have a buy-back option - and a sell-on clause - for Delap, but there has been no suggestion they will utilise that.Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are among the clubs who have been linked with him this season.And if Ipswich were to be relegated, it feels unlikely Delap would be going down with them."He just keeps on impressing me," said Sutton."Ipswich are making a great fist of trying to stay up and he is a huge part of that, but their issue is going to be if they do go down, because there are going to be a lot of suitors for him."Delap may have had to wait 907 days between his second and third Premier League appearances, but it feels like he is now a top-flight player to stay.
Chris Sutton and Steph Houghton were talking to Chris Bevan.