Man City have rejected a £15million bid from Borussia Dortmund for teenager Liam Delap, Football Insider can exclusively reveal.
The German big hitters made a move for the wonderkid striker, 18, in the lead-up to the end of the summer window.
A City source has told Football Insider that the package from Dortmund was worth £15m in total but they knocked it back as they have high hopes for Delap.
The forward is regarded as one of the outstanding teenagers in British football and seen as a Champions League-calibre player of the future.
His development has caught the eye of talent spotters at Dortmund, who lured Jadon Sancho from City when he was 17.
City have no intention of letting Delap go and Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the youngster.
His development is one of the reasons that City did not sign a centre-forward in the summer window.
The club’s coaching staff and hierarchy are mindful of not blocking the first-team pathway of Delap.
They tied down the youngster last month, when he signed a new five-year contract running until the summer of 2026.
Clubs across Europe were keen on signing Delap on a season-long loan in order to hand him regular first-team football.
But City pulled the plug on any potential temporary move when the youngster suffered an early-season injury.
Delap marked his return to action with a goal in the club’s Under-23s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace last Saturday.
The son of former Stoke City star Rory Delap has made three senior appearances for the Premier League champions, scoring one goal.
The young striker also scored 24 goals in 20 appearances to help City Under-23s seal the Premier League 2 Division One title last season.
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