'Harry Kane's successor' – Pep Guardiola facing second Cole Palmer error as claim is made
Pep Guardiola has seen criticism fired his way for allowing Cole Palmer to depart Man City for Chelsea, morphing into one of the Premier League’s best, and he could be experiencing déjà vu
by Ben Crawford · The MirrorPep Guardiola and Manchester City risk further Cole Palmer-esque embarrassment as Liam Delap – described as ‘Harry Kane’s obvious successor' – continues to impress.
When City academy graduate Palmer was sold to Chelsea in September last year, his £42.5million fee raised eyebrows. Yet, fast-forward 14 months, and the English maestro is one of the league's brightest sparks, and he even has a Young Player of the Year award to boot.
Now, the embarrassment felt by the Manchester side may not stop at Palmer. Ipswich Town hitman Delap, who was signed from City for £20m this July, has hit the ground running as a first-choice striker in the Premier League.
Many, including BBC pundit and former City defender Danny Mills, have praised the 21-year-old goalscorer for his performances so far this campaign, having grabbed six league goals already. He is now being touted as the natural replacement on the international stage for England captain Kane, too.
“He’s got a lot of qualities. I mean, I've seen him a bit, quite a lot this season, and I'd probably go as far as to say he is, for me, he's the obvious long-term successor to [Harry] Kane,” Mills stated on Match of the Day 2.
“I think he’s the best young English striker out there. I know he’s got a bit to learn, and wisdom comes from experience and game time in this league, but he's got all the attributes to be a top international.
“I just don’t see a weakness for him; I mean, yeah, he's scored enough goals in a struggling side, really, but he gets a lot of chances, and he'll score more. He's just got that lovely balance between physical and technical, and rarely you get both, yeah, he's a super talent.”
It isn’t just Mills who has been taken aback by Delap, as ex-Manchester United forward Dwight Yorke has also sung the Englishman’s praises.
When asked by Prime Casino about his top-three Premier League strikers, Yorke began: “There’s the guy at Ipswich, Liam Delap. He’s a real surprise player. Watching him against Villa, I thought, ‘bloody hell, he looks a handful’. You can just go by one game, but he looks a threat.”
Only time will tell whether Guardiola and City will live to regret their decision, as there would certainly have been few minutes found leading the Cityzens’ line with Erling Haaland ruling the roost. Yet, with Kane now 31 and the mantle soon to be passed down to another marksman for England, there is still plenty of room for Delap to develop on both domestic and international platforms.
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