Becoming the Tigers’ first signing of the 2023 summer window, Liam Delap joined on a season-long loan from Premier League champions Manchester City.

Born in Winchester, the striker, who is son of former Stoke City midfielder Rory Delap, began his footballing career at Derby County’s academy.

Joining Manchester City as a scholar in July 2019 before penning his first professional contract 12 months later, Delap quickly showed his potential, scoring one and setting up two more in a 6-0 rout of Stoke City in the 2020 Under-18 Premier League Cup final.

The highly-rated forward enjoyed a stellar 2020/21 campaign, netting 18 minutes into a dream senior debut against AFC Bournemouth in a 2-1 EFL Cup victory in September 2020, aged 17.

He made his Premier League bow against Leicester City three days later and featured in the FA Cup third round against Birmingham City – a 3-0 Etihad triumph. Playing twice in the EFL Trophy, he bagged a brace for the Citizens’ Under-21s against Mansfield Town and collected another goal at Tranmere Rovers.

Delap played a starring role in the Elite Development Squad’s 2020/21 title triumph, his return of 24 goals in 20 appearances earning him the Premier League 2 Player of the Year award.

Despite missing the first half of 2021/22 through injury, he still appeared three times for Pep Guardiola’s men. Delap came on in high-scoring wins over Fulham and Norwich City in the FA Cup and Premier League and made his Champions League debut in a 5-0 last-16 victory at Sporting CP.

Capped by England at Under-16s through to Under-20s, he helped the Young Lions win the European Under-19 Championship in July 2022 before heading out on his first loan to Stoke.

He made 23 appearances for the Potters last season – 15 of them starts – and scored his first Championship goal in a 3-1 victory over Sheffield United. His second and third Stoke goals came in successive December fixtures – a 2-2 home draw with Cardiff City and a 2-1 win at Bristol City.

Delap swapped one second-tier club for another in January, moving from the Potteries to Preston as he joined North End for the second half of the campaign. Turning out 15 times for the Lilywhites, he notched his only strike in the season’s penultimate game at Sheffield United.