Stoke City have completed the signing of Manchester City starlet Liam Delap on a season-long loan deal.
An option to buy the 19-year-old has not been included in the deal, which will see the striker spend the 2022-23 campaign in the Championship with Michael O'Neill's side.
Delap was strongly linked with a host of English clubs this summer and was allegedly the subject of a £16m bid from Southampton at the end of last month.
However, Stoke have won the race for his signature with the youngster following in the footsteps of his father and current first-team coach Rory Delap, who made over 200 appearances for the Potters over a seven-year period.
Delap, who will wear the No.17 shirt, becomes Stoke's ninth signing of the summer window and is the fifth to have joined on loan from a Premier League club after Harry Clarke from Arsenal, William Smallbone from Southampton, Gavin Kilkenny from Bournemouth and Tariqe Fosu from Brentford.
It's done.
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) August 18, 2022
Welcome back to the bet365 Stadium, @liamdelap ⚡️
Speaking to the club's official website on Delap's arrival at the bet365 Stadium, O'Neill said: "It's no secret that we have been looking to bring Liam to the club this summer.
"We have been in dialogue with City for some time now and had the opportunity a few weeks ago to outline our plans for Liam.
"We are grateful to them for the trust they have placed in us and we are really excited about working with Liam."
Man City boss Pep Guardiola revealed last weekend that Delap would head out on loan this season to continue his development and gain regular first-team football.
Delap endured a frustrating 2021-22 campaign with City's youth side due to injury, but he ended the season strongly and scored eight goals in 10 Premier League 2 appearances to help the team win the title.
LD17 pic.twitter.com/pdJVWr7XnZ
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) August 18, 2022
Delap, who joined City's academy from Derby County in 2019, has an exceptional scoring record in the Premier League 2, netting 32 times in as many games including 24 strikes in just 20 appearances during the 2020-21 season.
The 6ft 1in striker has trained regularly with City's senior team and has made a total of six first-team appearances under Guardiola, including his debut in September 2020 which saw him score a brilliant goal in a 2-1 EFL Cup win against Bournemouth.
Delap, who was handed his Champions League debut against Sporting Lisbon in February, will now get the chance to test his mettle in the Championship and could make his debut for Stoke on Saturday when they welcome Sunderland to the bet365 Stadium.
The Potters currently sit 18th in the Championship after four matches, and played out a 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough on Wednesday, which saw D'Margio Wright-Phillips, the son of former Man City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, come off the bench to score a 91st-minute equaliser.
Oliver Thomas
