Delap with Ipswich Town in 2024
Full name Liam Rory Delap[1]
Date of birth 8 February 2003 (age 21)[2]
Place of birth Winchester, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)[3]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team Ipswich Town
Number 19
Youth career
2009–2019 Derby County
2019–2020 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2024 Manchester City 2 (0)
2022–2023 → Stoke City (loan) 22 (3)
2023 → Preston North End (loan) 15 (1)
2023–2024 → Hull City (loan) 31 (8)
2024– Ipswich Town 12 (6)
International career‡
2018–2019 England U16[4] 10 (6)
2019 England U17[5] 2 (2)
2021 England U18[6] 1 (1)
2022 England U19[7] 5 (1)
2022– England U20[8] 7 (1)
2023– England U21[9] 9 (2
Liam Rory Delap (born 8 February 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Ipswich Town.
Club career
Manchester City
Delap joined Derby County's academy at the age of six where he spent the next 10 years before joining Manchester City's academy in 2019, impressing from a young age and being capped at several youth levels with England.[10] He scored a goal and set up two others in the final of the 2020 Under-18 Premier League Cup.[11]
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.[12] After the match, manager Pep Guardiola praised him and confirmed Delap would continue training with the first team.[13] 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.[14] In April 2021, Guardiola confirmed that Delap would be moved up to the first team permanently before the following season.[15] Delap won his first trophy on 25 April, when City defeated Tottenham 1–0 in the League Cup final at Wembley Stadium.[16] Delap, however, was not selected for the squad and instead had to follow the match from the stands.[17]
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 2021–22 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.[18] Following a number of injuries, he made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in the FA Cup Third Round tie against Fulham in February 2022,[19] and also came on during the 4–0 win over Norwich City in the Premier League, winning the penalty for the fourth goal.[20] 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.[21]
On 18 August 2022, Delap joined Stoke City on loan for the 2022–23 season.[22] He scored his first goal for Stoke in a 3–1 win over Sheffield United on 8 October 2022.[23] After making 23 appearances for Stoke, scoring three goals, Delap was recalled by Manchester City on 12 January 2023 and was sent to Preston North End for the remainder of the 2022–23 season.[24][25]
On 2 July 2023, Delap joined Hull City on a season long loan.[26] He made his debut on 5 August 2023 in the 2–1 loss away to Norwich City, scoring the opening goal of the match.[27] Delap was named Hull City's Player of the Month for December 2023.[28]
Ipswich Town
On 13 July 2024, Delap joined newly promoted Premier League club Ipswich Town on a permanent deal worth up to £20 million on a five-year contract.[29] Delap scored his first goal for the club on 31 August, netting the opener in a 1–1 draw with Fulham.[30] On 29 September, he scored both goals in a 2–2 home draw with Aston Villa, becoming the first Ipswich player to net twice in a Premier League game since Marcus Bent in March 2002.[31]
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.[32] On 29 March 2021, Delap made his debut for England U18s during a 2–0 win away to Wales at Leckwith Stadium.[33] 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.[34] On 17 June 2022, Delap was included in the England U19 squad for the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.[35] He scored the only goal of the match in their last group fixture.[36] On 1 July 2022, Delap came off the bench during extra time in the final and helped Aaron Ramsey score the last goal of the game as England beat Israel 3–1 to win the tournament.[37][38][39]
On 21 September 2022, Delap made his England U20 debut and scored during a 3–0 victory over Chile at the Pinatar Arena.[40] On 10 May 2023, Delap was included in the England squad for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[41] On 11 September 2023, Delap made a goalscoring debut for England U21 during a 3–0 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification win away to Luxembourg.[42]
Personal life
Delap was born in Winchester, Hampshire,[3] and is the son of former professional footballer Rory Delap, who represented the Republic of Ireland national team. His brother is Burton Albion player Finn Delap.[10]
His grandfather and three great-uncles are originally from Letterkenny, County Donegal while his grandmother is from Moynalty, County Meath.[11]
References
"2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
"Liam Delap: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
"Liam Delap: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
"Match Results Under 16: 2010–2020". England Football Online. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
"Match Results Under 17: 2010–2020". England Football Online. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
"Match Results Under 18: 2020–2030". England Football Online. 11 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
"Match Results Under 19: 2020–2030". England Football Online. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
"Match Results Under 20: 2020–2030". England Football Online. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
"Match Results Under 20: 2020–2030". England Football Online. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
"Who is Liam Delap?". Manchester City F.C. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
McNulty, Chris (14 March 2020). "Letterkenny delight as Liam Delap caps classy League Cup final display". Donegal Daily. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
"Manchester City vs Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
"Guardiola: Delap to stay with first team". Manchester City F.C. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
Stone, Simon (27 September 2020). "Manchester City 2–5 Leicester City: Jamie Vardy hat-trick inspires visitors to comeback win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
"Pep Guardiola confirms Liam Delap will be promoted to senior Manchester City squad next season". 90min.com. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
McNulty, Phil (25 April 2021). "Man City 1–0 Tottenham: Aymeric Laporte heads winner in Carabao Cup final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
Gholam, Simeon (26 April 2021). "Man City 1–0 Tottenham: Aymeric Laporte heads winner in Carabao Cup final". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
Bajkowski, Simon (20 August 2021). "Liam Delap signs new long term Man City contract as club weighs up loan offers". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
Flintham, Jack (6 February 2022). "Liam Delap performance vs Fulham doesn't change Man City's Erling Haaland stance". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
Bray, Joe (13 February 2022). "James McAtee, Kayky and Liam Delap help Pep Guardiola keep Man City promise with future in mind". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
Dawkes, Phil (15 February 2022). "Sporting Lisbon 0–5 Manchester City: Stellar City smash City in Portugal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
"Liam is a Potter". Stoke City. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
"Stoke 3–1 Sheffield United". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
"Man City recall Delap". Stoke City. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
"Liam Delap Joins PNE On Loan From Manchester City". Preston North End. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
"Delap joins Hull on loan". http://www.mancity.com. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
"Norwich City 2–1 Hull City". BBC Sport. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
"Delap Wins McVitie's December Player of the Month". Hull City A.F.C. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
"Liam Delap joins Town". Ipswich Town. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
"Delap screamer rocks Fulham as Town earn first Premier League point". East Anglian Daily Times. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
"Premier League LIVE: Ipswich Town 2–2 Aston Villa – live text, radio commentary, team news, score, report and stats". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
Smith, Jonathan (24 September 2020). "Liam Delap: Have Man City unearthed their very own Haaland?". Goal.com. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
Dean, Tom (29 March 2021). "Two second-half goals seal win for England men's under-18s over Wales in Cardiff". The Football Association. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
Lewin, Becca (23 March 2022). "Report: Republic of Ireland 1–3 England MU19s". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
Smith, Frank (17 June 2022). "Ian Foster has picked his 21-strong squad for this month's UEFA U19 EURO Finals in Slovakia". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
Boswell, Zinny (1 July 2022). "Meet England's Young Lions gunning for glory in Under-19s European Championships final against Israel". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
Honeyman, Sam (1 July 2022). "Israel 1–3 England (aet): Chukwuemeka and Ramsey the extra-time heroes as Young Lions fight back". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
Veevers, Nicholas (1 July 2022). "England win U19 EURO title after 3–1 win against Israel". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
"Israel U19 1–3 England U19: Gutsy England crowned European Under-19 champions". BBC Sport. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
Crane, Liam (21 September 2022). "Report: England MU20s 3–0 Chile". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
Veevers, Nick (10 May 2023). "England MU20s squad named for World Cup in Argentina". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
Dickson Jefford, Oli (11 September 2023). "Report: Luxembourg 0–3 England MU21s". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
"Games played by Liam Delap in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
"Games played by Liam Delap in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
"Games played by Liam Delap in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
"Games played by Liam Delap in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
"Games played by Liam Delap in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
"England take U-19 title as Israel and Slovakia make history". FIFA. 1 July 2022.