Manchester City striker Liam Delap could be set to stay at the club this season despite loan interest from elsewhere, according to a recent report by Manchester Evening News.

The youngster has been strongly linked with a loan move away from the Etihad Stadium this summer, with the likes of Birmingham City, Derby County, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Stoke City and West Brom all being mentioned as potential suitors.

However there has yet to be any movement on the transfer front for Delap, who is currently recovering from an injury that he sustained recently.

Now Manchester City under-23 coach Brian Barry-Murphy has revealed to MEN that he expects the player to stay under Pep Guardiola's stewardship during the forthcoming season:

"I know Liam's recovering from injury at the moment. That will be important for him, one of a few setbacks he's had in the last few months.

"Obviously his progress is there for all to see and I presume he's very much part of the first-team plans and that's how he progresses in the future."

Birmingham in particular are certainly in the market for a new striker to add to their attacking options, with the club having recently sanctioned the departure of Sam Cosgrove to Shrewsbury Town on loan.

The Blues are back in league action tomorrow as they play host to Bournemouth in the Sky Bet Championship at St Andrew's.

The Verdict

This will come as a blow to Lee Bowyer and his staff who are very much still in the market for a new striker, and it means that they will now need to avert their attentions to other potential targets.

Delap looked for all the world to be heading out on loan to the Championship however it is clear that City want to keep him around in case they need more options in the lone striking berth.

Birmingham have coped okay without a regular source of goals up top for quite some time, however there will come a time when they need a striker who can be reliable in the final third.

There is still time to bring in another striker and it will be interesting to see which player the Blues end up going for.