Stoke City show interest in Fabian Delph
Last week, Stoke City boss Mark Hughes confirmed that the club were in the hunt for a midfielder this summer going into the start of the 2017/18 season. Sky Sports understands that Hughes is interested Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph who has struggled to land a first team spot at the Etihad since joining from Aston Villa in 2015, following on from a successful season in the Premier League.
Delph’s final season at Villa saw the midfielder help secure his club’s stay in the top flight of English football whilst amassing an impressive average pass accuracy rate of 85%, marking him as a standout player within Villa’s ranks. Furthermore, The Citizens were in search of English players to fill their squad and due to Jack Rodwell’s unimpressive tenure with the Sky Blues it made sense to find a better midfield option.
However, since joining City Delph, like Rodwell, has struggled to make an impact with the Manchester club and has struggled for game time, making only 12 appearances during the 2016/17 season. Despite a poor stint at City, Mark Hughes’ Potters face competition from Premiership new-boys Newcastle for Delph’s signature.
In other news, Stoke City have sold their forward Jonathan Walters to Burnley after seven years at the club.