According to senior journalist Tom Barclay of The Sun, Southampton could ‘revisit’ a deal for Manchester City striker Liam Delap this summer.

The Lowdown: City set to sanction loan exit

The 19-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Premier League giants for the majority of the window in a bid to gain some first-team experience.

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano revealed last month that the Saints had seen a £16m offer rejected, and the Sky Blues were in talks with Stoke City over a season-long loan, but a move to the Potters has yet to come to fruition.

Pep Guardiola has since confirmed that the forward will be allowed to leave in the coming weeks, but only temporarily, though it’s yet unclear where his destination will be.

The Latest: Southampton monitoring Delap

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Barclay revealed that Southampton are still keeping a close eye on Delap’s situation and could be tempted to reignite their interest.

He said:

“I mentioned before, there’s been interest in Liam Delap, they’re still waiting to see what happens with him.

“I believe he hasn’t gone on loan yet, or signed anywhere else.

“So that might be one they might try and revisit.

“But yeah, it’s got to be something that Southampton fans are worried about [needing a new striker] amongst a lot of things at the moment.”

The Verdict: A risk worth taking

With the future of Che Adams currently in doubt, Ralph Hasenhuttl will want to make another attacking signing before September 1 just in case he leaves, and Delap has all the attributes he’s looking for.

The 'absolute beast’, as labelled by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, has netted an outstanding 35 goals and provided nine assists in just 36 appearances for City’s U21s, via Transfermarkt.

The fact that this deal would only be a loan means it’s a move that would come with little to almost no risk, and given his track record, Delap could be the one that the Austrian needs to accelerate his team to a whole new level.