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Manchester City have cashed in on many players during previous transfer windows.

For instance, after selling the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Cole Palmer and Aymeric Laporte following their historic Treble-winning campaign, City followed that up by selling some more players during the previous summer transfer window.

Most notably, Pep Guardiola’s side picked up a club-record sale fee of £81m to move Julian Alvarez out of the Etihad Stadium and over to Atletico Madrid, via BBC Sport.

Guardiola said Alvarez told him he wanted a new challenge away from City, which is why the Blues gave the green light to this particular deal.

With numerous other players leaving the Manchester club either on permanent deals or temporary loans, one, in particular, has found himself being heavily praised by a pundit who knows what it takes to play at a high level.

Bent hails Liam Delap following Man City summer exit

On the subject of which strikers have impressed him in the Premier League so far this season, Darren Bent said this on talkSPORT (8/10 16:38 PM) about Liam Delap.

He said: “I really rate him. I do think he has been brilliant. Even in the games he hasn’t scored in, I remember Brighton, him running and hitting the post with a powerful run.

“I’ve not really seen him before that, I saw him a little bit at Derby and obviously Man City, that’s where he, for Man City’s U23s, was smashing the goals in.

“The size of him! He’s big, powerful, strong. What I like about him as well, not only is he a goalscorer, he likes to mix it as well.

“We saw what he did to Quansah, first game of the season. Puts himself about and he’ll always be a handful.

“Maybe Ipswich haven’t got off to the best of starts but he will play a major factor in what happens to Ipswich going forward.”

How has Delap performed this season after Man City exit?

In addition to scoring 35 goals in 36 appearances for City’s U21 side, as well as bagging one goal in six senior games, Delap completed loan spells at clubs such as Preston North End, Stoke City and Hull City.

The striker then joined Ipswich Town during the previous summer transfer window as City sold him on a permanent basis in a deal worth a reported fee of £20m, via BBC Sport.

However, Fabrizio Romano said City have a buy-back clause for Delap as well as a 20% sell-on clause.

Ipswich weren’t the only side eager to land the Englishman last summer as Hull City chairman Acun Ilicali was desperate to sign Delap following his loan spell with the Tigers last season according to the club’s vice-chairman, Tan Kesler.

Since the start of the season, the 21-year-old has started all seven of the Tractor’s Premier League matches, scoring four goals along the way, three of which have come in their two previous games.

His overall performances have earned the centre-forward a season rating of 6.74/10 from WhoScored, making him the second-highest-rated player in the Ipswich squad.

This not only shows why Bent has been so impressed by what he’s seen from Delap so far this season but also begs the question of whether City should have kept the striker and made him a part of their first-team squad instead of selling him.

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