Micah Richards surprised Man City sold player for £20m as he drops ‘outstanding’ verdict
Manchester City faced a tough setback, suffering a heavy 4-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Manchester City dominated Spurs at the Etihad Stadium, and the outcome was tough for Pep Guardiola to accept.
This is the first instance in which the Spanish coach has experienced five consecutive losses in his managerial career. However, Spurs deserved their three-point victory, as City appeared disoriented once more.
City made it too simple to break through their defense. Their agile forwards—Heung-min Son, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, and Dominic Solanke—were having a great time on the pitch.
Right now, there's a lot of attention on the defense, but City is also facing challenges in their attack.
Right now, the team seems too dependent on Erling Haaland, and Micah Richards has shared his astonishment regarding the decision to sell Liam Delap during the summer.
Micah Richards Questions Man City's £20M Delap Exit
At the moment, Haaland is carrying the scoring load for City in the Premier League all by himself.
Players like Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, and Savinho haven't managed to find the back of the net in the league, and when Haaland isn't at his best, it really affects City.
Richards is beginning to feel that selling Liam Delap for £20 million might have been a poor decision.
On the latest episode of the Rest Is Football podcast, he commented on the Ipswich Town player: "He possesses a well-rounded skill set. Having a father who played professionally has likely provided him with valuable guidance. I was somewhat taken aback when he left City because he was consistently a highly desirable talent throughout his youth career."
As you pointed out, he has a bit of an old-school style, but for someone of his size, his skills are impressive. His ability to maintain possession for a player so young is often outstanding, and hasn’t he already netted six goals in the Premier League?
"For a team that performs well but doesn't create as many opportunities as the top teams, I believe he has been exceptional."
"He kind of reminds me of Ferguson when he was at Brighton. They have similar playing styles. Watching him, I notice their runs and actions are alike. Ferguson might have a slight edge in technical skills, but I’ve been really impressed by Delap’s performances this season."
It made sense for the City team to sell Delap, especially considering they received £20 million for a player who had very limited experience in the Premier League.
However, Guardiola is likely feeling a bit uneasy about Delap's departure now, especially considering his impressive performance at Ipswich and how his own team is having trouble finding the net when Haaland isn't at his best.
Having an additional striker option would be really beneficial.
However, City decided to transfer Delap quite early in the transfer window, and then they also approved the sale of Julian Alvarez for more than £80 million.
As a result, there is now an excessive dependence on Haaland. If the Norwegian suffers an injury, it could lead to a disastrous outcome for this already struggling season.
Recently, there was a suggestion that Manchester City could look to re-sign Delap in the future. Whether they will actually reach out to him is still uncertain, but Guardiola might regret allowing the initial sale to go through.
