Scottish giants Celtic are reportedly weighing up a move for Manchester City’s forgotten star Fabian Delph, as Brendan Rodgers seeks to add more quality to his midfield for their next Champions League campaign. The English midfielder had yet another season to forget in the Premier League as he managed just 12 league appearances under Guardiola last season.
The 27-year-old has been one of those English talents, who had a brilliant start to their professional career but was later wasted by recurring injuries. Delph has been nearly absent in the last few years with injuries, but that doesn’t deny his exquisite talent from the central midfield.
Delph can also play from the left flank and his pace on and off the ball makes him a brilliant player to watch. Rodgers has found the likes of Stuart Armstrong, Tom Rogic, Callum McGregor and more, sufficient to win the Scottish Premiership last season, but he knows he has to step up above the non-competitive league if he has to prove his mettle.
And Delph could just be the quality he needs in the midfield to have that extra edge over top European teams. The player, who was instrumental in England’s 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, has all the qualities of a complete midfielder and could surely be immensely productive in an injury free season.
One of the highly rated academy product of Yorkshire club Leeds United, Delph’s move from the Championship side to Aston Villa back in 2009 was a huge one. However, he was a major failure for the side as he missed a whopping 50 games with repetitive injuries. He managed to score three goals and registered seven assists over a long span of three seasons.
Villa were relegated soon after and he remained up with a £8 million move to the then new cash-rich side Manchester City. His luck changed very little as his injuries continued. This time he missed 52 games for the Manchester outfit with mostly muscular problems. The latest was last season where he missed 25 games since the beginning.
City had bought him from Aston Villa for a small amount and they are holding out a £12 million tag for him now, as per reports. The fee remains a real catch for a player of his qualities, but his injury history definitely runs the risk Rodgers cannot afford at such a crucial time of his career.
However, their last buy of an Aston Villa player didn’t go that bad as Scott Sinclair, a failure in the Premier League, was their top scorer last season. And he just might make a gamble with him too.
