Fabian Delph’s Manchester City career has been plagued by injuries and he is yet to make his first start under Pep Guardiola this season. Delph moved to the Etihad stadium from Aston Villa in the summer of 2015 after a tug of war between the two clubs. City had an initial bid rejected by Villa as Delph himself wasn’t interested in the move. But a sudden change of mind saw him moving to Manchester City only six days later after he said that he would not leave Aston Villa.
Guardiola brought Ilkay Gundogan from Borussia Dortmund to fill in the gaps in the City midfield. Delph scored his only goal of this season in the Uefa Champions League qualification stage against Steaua Bucharest. Guardiola stated in December that he would look into Delph’s future and he might send the player on loan to have some first team game time like Arsene Wenger did with Jack Wilshere.
Three Possible Destinations For Fabian Delph
Leeds United
A move back to the Elland Road might sound tempting for the 27-year-old. Delph came through the academy of Leeds United and has featured in 58 games for the Whites. Garry Monks’s side is currently flying high in the Championship and is sitting comfortably in the fourth spot. Although making top two from here is virtually impossible but the way they are playing, they are one of the favourites to get a promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs for next season.
Monk would definitely want to strengthen his squad and Delph fits the bill perfectly. He is an upgraded version of midfielder Pablo Hernandez and can give the necessary protection defensively when needed. His addition would add the much-needed balance to the Leeds United midfield that a Premier League side should have.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce was very keen to rope in the player in the winter transfer window. Delph had featured in 139 games for Villa and even was handed the captain’s armband but he decided to join Manchester City which created quite an outrage amongst the fans.
Villa is currently 12th and have to remain in the Championship for at least another season as there are no chances for them to gain a promotion. They are lacking the creativity in the midfield and Delph could be the solution.
Newcastle United
The Magpies had their problems with the midfield and Benitez have tried a number of combinations in the midfield but failed to clinch a permanent one. The Spaniard would definitely want to take the pressure off Jack Colback and Jonjo Shelvey and has to dig deep in the transfer market. Delph’s addition would give him a much more versatility in the midfield which they have been lacking so far.
