Manchester City have made an early statement in the transfer market by the signings of Ederson and Bernardo Silva that they won’t leave any stone unturned to get what is needed next season. However, that would also mean a mass exodus of players from the Etihad camp as well, as Guardiola clears up space and funds for the new arrivals.
City have wasted no time in releasing the old faces of Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Willy Caballero and Jesus Navas, but their whopping estimation of £300 million transfer activities that include £130 million sales as well doesn’t get solved by this. There are many players like Fernando, Joe Hart, Fabian Delph, Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfried Bony and more who have expected fetch decent sums for City.
Which made the claims quite surprising of City indulging in a loan deal with Stoke City for their English central midfielder Fabian Delph. The injury-prone player has been a major failure for the side and hasn’t reached half the level of what he was prophesied for. And it is what makes Stoke City’s move all the more brilliant.
The Potters had a frustrating season in the league last term, which saw the side hardly performing in games and they still managed to stay on top, courtesy of favourable results around them. Manager Mark Hughes wouldn’t leave his next season to fate now as he aims to bring in the necessary reinforcements to challenge for a top-half finish.
Darren Fletcher has been a surprisingly good buy from them, who will hold the midfield better than the likes of Charlie Adam and Glenn Whelan, and the arrival of Delph could be a serious upgrade for the side behind the likes of Joe Allen, Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri. And it’s a risk worth taking by all means as Delph’s quality is undeniable and an injury free season for him would surely fire the Potters to their desired target.
Delph was hugely instrumental in England’s 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, showing why City had paid £8 million to the relegated Aston Villa for his services. Delph has all the attributes of a world class midfielder and if fit, could be a real season-changing deal for Hughes.
However, since coming to the top-tier from Leeds United back in 2009, he has missed a whopping 102 games for Aston Villa and Manchester City collectively. All those rehabilitation time and getting back into speed also took its toll on his performances as he could manage just six goals and seven assists in 136 Premier League appearances.
