West Bromwich Albion are interested in a deal to bring Liam Delap to The Hawthorns this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by the Express & Star, who claim that the Manchester City centre-forward is on the radar of Valerien Ismael, with the 45-year-old keen to add an out and out centre-forward to his Albion squad before the transfer window closes.

The report continues by stating that West Brom's lack of depth up front could help the club convince the 18-year-old of a move to The Hawthorns, as the lack of competition could see the striker afforded more game time than he could get at another Championship side.

However, with the Express & Star finishing the report by revealing that a great many second-tier sides are also interested in a deal for the England U19 international, the Frenchman looks to be facing a real fight to secure the signing of Delap this summer.

Huge coup

While, in normal circumstances, hanging your promotion hopes on an 18-year-old centre-forward who has made just three first-team appearances in his career to date would not appear overly sensible, considering the potential Delap appears to possess, the Manchester City man is very much the exception to this rule.

Indeed, over 20 Premier League 2 appearances for City's U23s last season, the £5k-per-week youngster bagged 24 goals and provided his teammates with five assists - with his contributions playing a key role in his side securing the league title, as well seeing the forward awarded the league's Player of the Year trophy.

The man Jacek Kulig dubbed a "phenomenal" player also scored a further five goals and provided one assist over four appearances in the FA Youth Cup and EFL Trophy, taking his total haul for the 2020/21 campaign to 30 goals and six assists in all competitions.

As such, despite his tender age, it would very much seem as if Delap possesses the ability to help fire Albion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking next season, with his signing - if Ismael can indeed get a deal over the line this summer - being a huge coup for the club.

In other news: Transfer development emerges on £10k-p/w "top player", West Brom fans will be buzzing