Player Focus: Delph's Villa Performances Warrant City Starting Berth

A little over a week ago, Fabian Delph confirmed his intentions to stay at Aston Villa, despite interest from Manchester City. "I’m not leaving. I’m staying at the football club and I can’t wait for the start of the season and captaining this great football club," a statement read on the club’s official website. 6 days after this, however, Delph had moved to City, unsurprisingly angering Villans fans. Had the 25-year-old initially stated his intentions to depart for the Citizens in order to play Champions League football, supporters would have been more understanding of his decision to move to the Etihad Stadium, as disappointing as the choice was. 

However, the spectacular U-turn showed a complete lack of respect to both Villa - the club who gave Delph his chance in the Premier League - and the supporters who stood by him when he first moved to Villa Park. Nevertheless, the move was completed late on Friday evening after pictures earlier that day showed him entering a Manchester hospital ahead of a medical before penning a five-year deal with City. Naturally, much like in the aftermath of Raheem Sterling’s City switch, social media was rife with suggestions that Delph would play little more than a bit-part role, if that, for his new team. 

Granted, in a side containing Yaya Touré, Fernando and Fernandinho, competition will be rife for starting spots, but Delph has come to challenge for a first team berth at the Etihad Stadium. Comparisons with Jack Rodwell’s move to City in 2012, though, are certainly lazy. Rodwell moved to the club as a youngster, who had the potential to become one of the best English centre midfielders in the league. Injuries, though, hampered his progress and it’s unlikely that the 24-year-old, now of Sunderland, will reach the heights that were expected of him. 

Delph, on the other hand, is now a well-established Premier League performer, an England international and was considered one of the best midfielder’s outside of last season’s top 6. His WhoScored rating (7.08) was bettered only by centre-backs Ciaran Clark (7.13) and Jores Okore (7.10) of all Villa players last season and, understandably, his departure will come as a blow to the Midlands side. The club already have his replacement in Idrissa Gueye, but the former Lille star needs time to adjust to the rigours of English football.

Now City have at their disposal a player who is comfortable at carrying possession forward from deeper positions. Of players to attempt at least 50 dribbles in the Premier League last season, only Touré (83.6%) had a better dribble success rate than Delph (82.4%), accentuating the Englishman’s statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘dribbling’. This quality of his game should help City instigate attacks, provided Manuel Pellegrini opts for a 4-2-3-1 formation. Should that indeed be the case, Delph, Touré, Fernando and Fernandinho will each be battling for two starting spots. 

While not as physically imposing as Touré, Delph utilises his modest frame to hold off opposition players and drive forward when in possession. It’s likely that Pellegrini will have noted this aspect of his game and plans on exploiting it as and when it’s necessary. Fernando and Fernandinho in particular should be sweating over their position in the team. The duo, for all their quality, were both particularly underwhelming for City last season. Fernandinho was dribbled past on average 2.1 times per game, one of the worst returns in the league. Fernando, meanwhile, was beaten 1.5 times per game. Delph, in comparison, was dribbled past just 1.1 times per league outing. While not a gulfing difference between the trio, that City (59.5%) averaged significantly more possession per game than Villa (49%) speaks volumes when it comes to such figures. 

City were one of the more dominant teams in the league, yet Fernandinho and Fernando somewhat failed to carry out the defensive duties set upon them by Pellegrini. This meant captain Vincent Kompany stepped forward to plug the gap between the midfield and defence and was often caught out of position as a result. Delph, though, carried out his responsibilities with aplomb, utilising his athleticism to hunt down possession across the midfield third and preventing players from heaping pressure upon the back four to the best of his ability. His average of 2.1 tackles per game was also a respectable return and better than both Fernando (1.4) and Touré (1), though worse than Fernandinho (2.8). However, this could merely highlight that Delph adopts a more measured approach to tackling - an aspect that has certainly improved as he has matured - as he was not dribbled past as frequently as the Brazilian. 

There is also an air of confidence to Delph’s play, and rightly so. The England midfielder averaged 78.3 touches per game for Villa last season, a figure bettered only by Kieran Trippier (83.2) and Leighton Baines (78.7) of players outside of last season’s top 6 teams. That Trippier and Baines were the main creative outlets for both Burnley and Everton respectively last season, though, boosts Delph’s credentials, with his willingness to get on the ball as frequently as possible for Villa proving crucial to their play. 

Reinforcing this fact, Delph averaged more successful passes in the final third (15.3) than any other Premier League player not plying his trade for a top 6 team last season. His ability to drive forward with the ball and regularly pick out a teammate, especially for a disappointing Villa side last term, ultimately will have convinced Pellegrini to move for the former Leeds star. Given the quality of the City attack, both of the facets of Delph’s game are expected to benefit the Citizens.

Of course, one of the reasons City signed Delph - like with Sterling - was to help make up the homegrown quota, but to suggest the midfielder’s career will now come to an end because of his move to the Etihad is wide of the mark. As he proved for Villa, the Englishman is more than deserving of a starting berth for his new team, all the more so when factoring in Fernando and Fernandinho’s disappointing performances for the two-time Premier League champions last season. He may have left Villa more villian than Villan, but his displays for the Midlands outfit mean he, like Sterling, warrants a starting berth for City.

Do you think Fabian Delph has what it takes to start for Manchester City? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below