And when the City manager described Delap as a “traditional British centre-forward,” after his team booked a fifth round visit to Peterborough United, it was clearly not meant derogatorily.

“Liam last season grew up a lot, especially with (academy head) Enzo Maresca. He helped him a lot to develop. He’s a type of striker that we don’t have. He’s a killer, a typical British striker, an incredible finisher,” said Guardiola.

“The only problem was he was injured and after injured and after injured. He struggled a lot with his ankles but he has a special quality. The goal is offside okay but he was there and it was goal.

“Every training session, against Aymeric Laporte, against Ruben Dias, against John Stones or Nathan Ake, Liam fights. Most of the time he wins the duels, or he breaks his nose or something like that.”

At first glance, a robust, 6’1” striker who identifies a broken nose as a badge of honour does not sound like a Guardiola archetype.
But, like all great coaches, the City manager is nothing if not innovative and fluid in handling his and his team’s evolution and development.

Interestingly, City also possess some of the most technically adept wingers and wide midfield players in the Premier League but, aside from holding midfielder Rodri, do not have any height in the team to take advantage of what could be a near endless stream of accurate crosses.

The prospect of Delap, who is hardly lacking in technical efficiency, appearing on the end of a stream of such deliveries will be an appealing one to City supporters and traditionalists in general.

Now 18, Delap made his City debut in September 2020, scoring on his debut in an EFL Cup tie against Bournemouth, only for those injuries to temporarily curtail his progress.

An England under-18 international and the son of former Ireland international and current Stoke coach Rory, Liam’s lineage is one reason Guardiola expects him now to challenge for regular first team football.

“I can control on the pitch but to be a top player today you have to be on the pitch and off the pitch,” he said. “And I think with Liam it’s not the case because, off the pitch, his father works at Stoke City and he has come from the world of football so he knows exactly what he has to do.”

Riyad Mahrez return helps Manchester City brush past Fulham

Riyad Mahrez, a name possibly overlooked on occasion among Manchester City’s glittering array of attacking galacticos, returned to domestic duty with the minimum of fuss and maximum impact as his team coasted into the FA Cup fifth round.

Away with Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations since New Year’s Day, the winger scored a penalty, a deflected second goal and recorded an assist for City’s equaliser after the Championship leaders had shown the audacity to score the tie’s first goal after just four minutes.

It was Mahrez’s sixth consecutive City game in which he has planted his name on the scoresheet and while his contribution may sometimes be eclipsed by those around him, ostensibly at least, his value to Pep Guardiola’s team is beyond dispute.

“Riyad has such quality, and of course he has the mentality to score but, as a player, he has such special quality,” said Guardiola.

“He understands how to control, how he attacks opponents to make one against two or one against three and how he passes the ball to the free man. 

“And you always have the feeling he will score and we have had trouble the last years to score penalties but now, with him, it is a guarantee.

“I’m very pleased to be in the next round because this round today showed how difficult the FA Cup is, with many surprises until the last minute of games. And we faced a very, very top team.”

Mahrez scored the decisive third for City, eight minutes into the second half, to remove any lingering danger of an upset as a team that looks comfortably the best in the Championship was reminded of the gulf in class when compared to their equivalent a division higher.