Liam Delap
Liam Rory Delap (born 8 February 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester City. Club career. Delap joined Manchester City's academy in 2019 from Derby County, impressing from a young age and being capped at several youth levels with England. He scored a goal and set up two others in the final of the 2020 Under-18 Premier League Cup. On 24 September 2020, Delap made his first-team debut in a 2–1 home win against AFC Bournemouth in the EFL Cup, scoring his first senior goal in the  18th minute. After the match, manager Pep Guardiola praised him and confirmed Delap would continue training with the first team. Three days later, he made his Premier League debut in a 5–2 home defeat by Leicester City, coming on as a substitute for Fernandinho in the 51st minute. In April 2021, Guardiola confirmed that Delap would be moved up to the first-team permanently before the following season. Delap won his first trophy on April 25, when City defeated Tottenham 1–0 in the League Cup final at Wembley Stadium. Delap, however, was not selected for the squad and instead had  to follow the match in the stands. During the 2021 pre-season, Delap suffered an injury to his foot, which led to him missing the Community Shield against Leicester City, which Manchester City lost 1–0, and the Premier League opener against Tottenham Hotspur, which they also lost 1–0. On 20 August, amid interest from several Championship clubs looking to loan him, Delap signed a three-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2026. Following a number of injuries, he made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in the FA Cup 3rd Round tie against Fulham  in February 2022, and also came on during the 4–0 win over Norwich City in the Premier League, winning the penalty for the 4th goal. On 15 February 2022, Delap made his UEFA Champions League debut in the first leg of the round of 16 tie as a substitute for Bernardo Silva, in a 5–0 away win over Primeira Liga champions Sporting CP. International career. Delap has represented England at youth level. He finished as top scorer at the 2019 Mercedes-Benz Aegean Tournament for U16 international sides in Turkey, and went on to play for the U17s. On 29  March 2021, Delap made his debut for England U18s during a 2-0 win away to Wales at the Leckwith Stadium. On 23 March 2022, Delap made his U19 debut as a substitute in a 3-1 win over Republic of Ireland during 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification at the Bescot Stadium. Personal life. Delap was born in Winchester, Hampshire, and is the son of former professional footballer Rory Delap, who represented the Republic of Ireland national team. His grandfather and three great-uncles are originally from Letterkenny, County Donegal.