Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph, 29, has joined Everton for a fee of up to £10m and joined Marco Silva’s men on their Swiss training camp.
The Yorkshire-born midfielder arrived from Aston Villa in July 2015 – in the same season as Raheem Sterling – but found it difficult to force his way into the first team after a series of injuries and with tough competition in midfield ahead of him.
Delph filled in at left back during the 2017/18 season during an injury crisis, playing 22 times in the season in which Pep Guardiola’s team won the Premier League with a record number of points.
He had just one season left on his contract with City but the arrival of £63m midfielder and club record signing Rodri has reduced his chances of game time in the forthcoming season.
And the return of specialist left back Angelino may also have restricted his chance of game time at left back.
Fabian Delph leaves Man City to join Everton for more game time
Following his move – on a three-year-deal to Goodison Park – Delph admitted that he wanted more game time, which the Toffees could offer him.
He told the Everton website: “The club that I’ve been at has had success, especially in the last two seasons, and over the last four years we managed to win trophies.
“I wanted to be playing more regularly and the opportunity to come and play for Everton Football Club was too good of an opportunity to turn down.”
The £10m fee will go some way towards satisfying Financial Fair Play – offsetting the cost of the incoming players – but Rodri’s arrival makes replacing Delph a challenge.
This is because City also have to comply with Premier League regulations which stipulate a maximum of 17 foreign players in the registered squad.
With Rodri’s arrival following captain Vincent Kompany’s departure, City’s roster is currently full and City would have to replace Delph with a home grown player.
As a home grown player, Delph’s departure is a blow but City have been looking at home grown players such as Leicester City’s Harry Maguire and Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake.
City will have to move on the likes of Eliaquim Mangala or Danilo before signing foreign replacements such as Joao Cancelo from Juventus.