Less than a week ago, it appeared certain that Fabian Delph would reject the advances of Manchester City and stay at Aston Villa. At the time, the move made sense for Delph at this point in his career. In the past, several players have moved from smaller clubs to the Etihad and spent the formative years of their career on the sidelines. Some speculated that this would be the case for Delph, if he decided to leave Aston Villa.
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However, ESPN FC reports that Delph has already passed a medical and agreed to a five-year contract with Manchester City. The England International joins City for a fee of £8 million and will wear the number 18 next season. The 25-year-old enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2014-2015 with Aston Villa, leading Villa to survival in a relegation battle and carrying the Villains to the Final of the FA Cup. Despite a lack of goals and assists, Delph was without question one of the most important players for Villa last season.
It appears that several factors went into this decision. First, Delph has a chance to be part of a club that will compete for trophies in several major competitions. It will be his first opportunity to take part in the UEFA Champions League as well. The player had stated that Champions League football would be important for him to stay on the radar of England Manager Roy Hodgson. Delph has made it clear he wants to be part of the Euro 2016 squad for England next Summer and competing in bigger tournaments could help him stay in the spotlight.
The risk for the player is simple. At Manchester City, the bench is full of world-class players. Meanwhile, the starting eleven is full of superstars. It will be interesting to see if Delph can break into Manuel Pellegrini’s starting eleven. Delph will add to the required number of homegrown players, but could get buried on the bench behind the stacked midfield at the Etihad.
For Manchester City, the move is fantastic. They add a quality midfielder to fill the void left by James Milner and Frank Lampard. At just £8 million, the financial risk is relatively small. The upside of the player could see Delph emerge as a rock-solid contributor in the midfield. The biggest question regarding the transfer is whether or not Delph is good enough to star at Manchester City?
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