Biography
Powerful striker Liam Delap joined Hull City on a season long loan in July 2023, scoring on his debut at rain-sodden Norwich. He rapidly established himself at the fulcrum of City’s attack, combining neat interplay with rampaging runs at the heart of terrified opposition defences – he also continued to contribute some fine goals as well as a smattering of assists. As the Tigers approached the January 2024 transfer window on the fringes of the play-off positions and with big plans for new signings, it was a heavy blow in early January when a knee injury that Delap had been managing match by match turned out to be more serious and he was out of the side for three months. When Liam returned to fitness in early April 2024 City’s play-off hopes were hanging by a thread, his presence sparked a mini-revival but in the end the Tigers fell just short on the final day of the season and Liam returned to Manchester City with a much-improved goalscoring reputation.
Liam Rory Delap, the son of ex-Southampton and Stoke City long throw specialist Rory Delap, came through the academy ranks at his father’s club Derby County before joining the Manchester City at the age of 16 in 2019. He immediately cut an impressive figure in Manchester City’s ultra-competitive academy system, scoring goals aplenty for the youth and Under-21 sides. In the 2019/20 season Delap played in the Citizens’ Under-18 side that lifted the FA Youth Cup and in the 2020/21 season, still only 17, he broke into the Under-21 side and scored 24 goals in 20 appearances including three hattricks. He made his senior debut for Manchester City in a September 2020 EFL Trophy tie against Mansfield Town, in which he scored twice, and made his Premier League debut three weeks later against Leicester City. He ended the 2020/21 season with four goals in 5 senior appearances.
Liam added another 5 senior appearances in the 2021/22 season including a Champions League debut in February 2022 against Sporting Club de Portugal, though injury curtailed his game time in the Under-21 side. In August 2022 he joined Championship side Stoke City on a season long loan – the Potters featured his father Rory in their coaching staff – and he scored three goals in 23 appearances before the loan was cut short at Manchester City’s request in January 2023. A couple of days later Liam was loaned to Championship rivals Preston North End for the remainder of the season, where he scored once in 15 appearances.
In July 2024 Delap joined Premier League newboys Ipswich Town for a fee reputed to the around £20 million – a strong indication of how his season with the Tigers enhanced his reputation as a player with great top flight potential. He started Ipswich’s first two Premier League games for twenty years, a tricky pair of matches against Liverpool and his former club Manchester City, then went on to burnish his reputation as a rampaging forward with an eye for goal, the first of which came against Fulham in August 2024.
Delap was recognised by the England international setup throughout his teenage years. He made his debut for England Under-16s against Croatia in July 2018, during the 2018/19 season he played ten times for the Under-16s and scored six goals including a brace in January 2019 against Moldova. He rose to the England Under-17 squad in the 2019/20 season and scored twice in two starts during September 2019. In March 2021 he won his only cap for England Under-18s, scoring in a victory over Wales. He represented England Under-19s in the 2021/22 season, playing twice in March 2022 then adding three more starts, and scoring once, in the European Under-19 Championship Finals played in Slovakia during June 2022 – a tournament that saw England lift the title after defeating Israel in the Final. During the 2022/23 season Liam played four times for Engfland Under-20s, scoring once on his debut against Chile.
In September 2023, after his fine start to his loan spell at Hull City, Delap scored on his England Under-21 debut against Luxembourg, then netted again a month later in his second Under-21 appearance against Serbia and won a third under-21 cap days later against Ukraine.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 8 February 2003, Winchester
Hull City First Game: 5 August 2023, Norwich City A (Championship), 20 years, 178 days old
Hull City Final Game: 4 May 2024, Plymouth Argyle A (Championship), 21 years, 86 days old
Clubs
Manchester City (2019-2024), Stoke City (2022-2023, loan), Preston North End (2023, loan), Hull City (2023-2024, loan), Ipswich Town (2024-current)
Hull City Record
Career: 32 apps, 8 goals
Liam Delap| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 26 (5) | 8 | – | – | 0 (1) | 0 | – | – | – | – |