Stoke City will explore the possibility of signing Liam Delap on loan from Manchester City in the January window, with the Premier League side potentially open to doing such business mid-season, Football League World can reveal.

Delap was the subject of a lot of speculation over the summer window, with a number of Championship clubs credited with an interest in him.

Chief among them were the Potters, with them hoping to try and get a loan deal sorted for him before the market closed earlier this week.

Indeed, the likes of Middlesbrough and Millwall also enquired about his availability for a loan stint away from the reigning Premier League champions, but they opted against sanctioning such a move with them not bringing in a new striker themselves before the deadline.

That said, Football League World can reveal that, depending on how City's season is going in the top flight this year, they could be open to letting Delap leave on loan in the January market, with them particularly open to him sealing a switch to Stoke for the second half of the season.

The Blues currently plan on involving Delap in the first-team squad in the first weeks and months of the campaign but, if things are going well by January, they'll then be willing to let him move away for a period.