Had it turned out differently for Liam Delap, he could be playing for Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the Manchester United co-owner’s stable of clubs.

He is currently one of the Premier League’s most sought-after strikers – unlike any of its English No 9s – and just a few years ago there was a buzz around clubs when he was on the market. As Pep Guardiola noted in those pre-Erling Haaland days, Delap was “a different striker than we have in terms of physicality”.

Potential clubs were weighing up whether to gamble on a teenager with unique attributes but limited experience of senior football. He scored on his Manchester City debut, against Bournemouth in the League Cup, but had not started a Premier League game.

OGC Nice, owned by Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group, were looking at a deal for him. In the end they went for Terem Moffi, who was slightly older and has done well for the French club. Delap went down a different path, with loans at EFL clubs before last summer’s move to Ipswich Town.

It is safe to say that Ratcliffe and the other club owners in the Premier League would love to have got in early with Delap. He is the breakout star of the season and those early traits seen by scouts watching City Academy matches are now viewed by millions.

Delap says of his game: “I’m quite quick and strong and I like to carry the ball. Hopefully I can bring goals and assists.” He is on the radar of Chelsea and other heavyweights of the Premier League because he is like no other striker.

Aggression. Pace. Finishing. Running behind defences. Strength. The determination to win at all costs. In an age of false nines, not many possess the qualities of the old-fashioned No 9. It is foolish to compare him to the great Alan Shearer, although the Premier League’s greatest goalscorer himself is impressed by Delap and has tipped him for an England call-up.

As clubs looked to land Delap’s first loan of his career, Stoke City assistant manager Dean Holden scouted him and at the time it felt like a perfect move. Delap’s father, Rory, played 208 games for Stoke and the club were getting a young striker to partner Dwight Gayle, a proven Championship goalscorer.

“I watched a lot of Liam for Manchester City junior teams and he was just really mature for his age,” said Holden. “He was a bit like [Wayne] Rooney, physically a man and mentally was there as well.

“He was in a proper environment growing up. Rory is from Carlisle, he’s old school and a proper bloke, a players’ player. Liam is from good stock and was not a typical academy player, without being rude some get their a--- wiped for them but Liam wasn’t like that.

“What you see now is what we were hoping we would get at Stoke. An old-fashioned No 9 but a player who can run as well and can go behind defences. My worry was dealing with him constantly wanting more from himself and team-mates. He’ll go toe-to-toe against [Virgil] van Dijk, then have a go at referees, go into rash tackles after a bad decision. He plays on the edge.

“You can’t compare anyone to Shearer but you can say that Liam isn’t like your academy No 10-type forward who comes short for the ball. He wants to win at all costs.”

The loan ended up lasting only half a season at Stoke, with Michael O’Neill sacked early in the campaign and Alex Neil coming in. Delap was in an out of the team and returned to City in the January window.

Preston North End picked him up for the rest of the campaign and had a forward line of veteran Ched Evans along with Delap, Troy Parrott from Tottenham and Tom Cannon from Everton. In general the loans did not work out for Delap, with his managers leaving or him suffering an injury, as he did last season at Hull City when a knee complaint ruled him out for four months.

Despite his wealth of experience in the Premier League, Delap’s father was happy for his son to be independent and make his own decisions. While he was seen at the Etihad Stadium matches during Covid as a lone onlooker in the empty stands, he has been focusing on his own coaching career, assisting Robbie Keane at Maccabi Tel Aviv and now Ferencvaros in Hungary.

Ipswich were competing with Southampton and one other foreign club for his signature last summer but Kieran McKenna’s style of football at Portman Road was a big draw. “It is an exciting way to play,” said Delap. “Everyone has a role. It’s so intense and quick, you love to play in it. You get a gut feeling. You never know in football, so you go with your gut.”

So far at Ipswich it has been eight goals in 18 starts, which is a healthy return in a team fighting against relegation. But it has been his all-round game that has caught the eye. He is creating chances for himself by carrying the ball, while matching centre-backs physically.

As he showed against Chelsea when he earned a penalty – inviting contact in the area – he has the dark arts to go with his talent. Only three players in the Premier League have committed more fouls that Delap’s 39 – and none of them are strikers. As Holden said, his game is played on the edge.

“I think that’s more from his mum, to be honest. But I think you need that, he’s always had it,” his father, Rory, said on the Forever Blue podcast, “Sometimes it can boil over but he’ll learn as he goes on. Bookings and red cards will come back to bite him and he’ll end up missing games. But there’s no point taking that out of his game. Otherwise he wouldn’t be the player he is.”

One attribute he lacks is his father’s long throw, although he has often been asked about it. The rest of his game looks ready-made for an England call-up, and surely Thomas Tuchel cannot ignore his form, even if Ollie Watkins is the established back-up to Harry Kane.

Delap has played for the England Under-21s under Lee Carsley, although he is not an automatic starter. For his past six Under-21 caps he came on as a substitute in three of them. Now he is in the Premier League he has pundits such as Shearer in his corner saying Tuchel should have a look at him in March against Albania and Latvia.

“We’re not blessed with English strikers and there’s no doubt Thomas Tuchel will have a good look at him,” said Shearer as a pundit. There is no bigger compliment for a No 9.