Hull City have confirmed the signing of Manchester City striker Liam Delap after his spell with Preston North End.
The Tigers have confirmed this morning that Delap has arrived on a season-long loan deal from City.
Delap spent the second half of last season on loan at PNE having had his Stoke City loan cut short in January.
The 20-year-old struggled to nail down a place in the PNE first team and managed just one goal, which came against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Delap also struggled against Hull and was substituted at half-time in a 0-0 draw at the MKM Stadium back in February.
That wasn’t Delap’s finest 45 minutes but it hasn’t put off Hull boss Liam Rosenior with a deal now done.
Delap did though conjure one of the more hilarious moments of the season as he set up a last-gasp equaliser against Blackburn Rovers.
Some fans had wondered whether PNE would look to bring Delap back to Deepdale after showing promising signs in the final games of the season.
It’s Hull who have managed to sign Delap though, bolstering their attack which already features Oscar Estupinan and Benjamin Tetteh.
Liam Rosenior has heaped praise on Delap, praising him as a ‘great finisher’ with ‘freak speed’ for his size.
Rosenior believes that Hull fans will really love watching Delap, believing that he can be a ‘real asset’ for the Tigers moving forward.
Rosenior also claims that Hull have beaten Championship and European clubs in the race to sign Delap, believing the club have landed a huge coup.
“I’m absolutely delighted that Liam is coming here. We’ve fought off a lot of competition from other Championship clubs and clubs around Europe. He’s someone I’ve known and been aware of for a long time,” said Rosenior.
“Liam completely fits into the way we play. He’s got outstanding physical attributes and is a great finisher. He’s got freak speed, is aggressive and can run in behind, which is one of the areas we wanted to address. He’s someone the fans will really enjoy watching.”
“He’s had an amazing education and upbringing at Manchester City. In the right team that plays to his strengths, he can be a real asset and I believe he’ll be a real asset for us moving forward,” he added.
PNE travel to take on Hull on October 28th before meeting at Deepdale on March 2nd, which will hand Delap a return to North End.