Whenever Tottenham Hotspur are linked with a centre-forward, the temptation is always to view him through the perspective of one Harry Kane.
Can the striker in question produce the same remarkable numbers Kane put up during nearly a decade of relentless goalscoring?
Can he be the man to take Ange Postecoglou’s side to the next level, and ensure the perennial bridesmaids finally walk down the aisle in a dress the same colour as Tottenham’s home shirt?
Well, given that Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap is only 10 games and four goals into his Premier League career, suggesting that the Manchester City academy graduate could come to represent the second coming of the Messiah in North London feels, at this stage, pretty fanciful.
Tottenham were linked with a shock move for £15m Ipswich hitman Delap this week.
But, while the sample size is small only two months into the new campaign, there are undoubtedly shades of a young Harry Kane in the 6ft 1ins centre-forward.
Tottenham Hotspur reportedly like Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap
With his unassuming haircut, his broad-shouldered yet rangy build – there are only two centre-metres between the two strikers – Delap also moves with a familiar smoothness and deceptive pace.
Kane has made quite the career out of that trademark finisher move; low, driven strikes into the far corner. The type of which Delap produced after shifting the ball past a bamboozled Diego Carlos during Ipswich’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa recently.
His second of the afternoon.
There were hints of the England captain in Delap’s leveller against West Ham United a fortnight ago too. Shifting the ball onto his right foot in the corner of the penalty area, he needed only the tiniest glimpse of Alphonse Areola goal to fire an instinctive, thumping effort towards the near post.
“He’s had a brilliant start,” former Crystal Palace and Brighton striker Glenn Murray told BBC’s Match of the Day after watching Delap at close quarters. “He’s been exceptional.
“He’s always lively, always on the move. What I like about him is that he’s never really marked, he’s always moving and finding that yard of space.
“We’re seeing him start to compete at this level and looking like he could be the difference.”
Delap’s emphatic, controlled finishing is not the only attribute he shares with a man now leading the line for Bayern Munich.
The former Hull City, Stoke and Preston loanee isn’t content with simply waiting for chances to come his way. Delap drops deep, drifts wide and loves finding pockets of space between the opposition midfield and their backline.
“He is the type of striker we don’t have,” none other than Pep Guardiola said back in 2022, when Delap was a teenager starting to hone his talents at Man City. “He is a killer. A typical British striker. An incredible finisher.”
Some Man City fans wondered if Delap could replace the legendary Sergio Aguero at the time, such was the potential he showed at youth level.
“He has a special quality,” the manager added. “He is a different type of striker.”
What Guardiola meant by that, it can be assumed, is that while Delap may be a number nine by nature, he possesses a skillset broader than the classic penalty-box centre-forward.
Former Hull City boss said Liam Delap can ‘play anywhere’
Harry Kane is not only a world-class striker but a world-class footballer, too. Whether Liam Delap can ever realistically be mentioned in the same breath, only time will tell.
But if Tottenham want a forward who can not only put away the chances but also create a numerical superiority out wide and in the centre – running away from defenders with a burst of acceleration and carrying the ball from deep – then Delap might just be the closet thing they could find on the market to a man with those Harry Kane-esque genes.
Delap scored only eight times in 31 league matches at Hull in 2023/24. But guess who else came of age in the Premier League after a less-than-stellar goalscoring record on loan in the Football League?
“He can play anywhere on the pitch, he’s that good,” former Hull coach Liam Rosenior said during Delap’s spell on Humberside.
“He’s naturally a number nine. [But] he’s a number nine with a lot of technical and physical capabilities and speed.
“For him to play out on the [wing], sometimes it’s just going to improve his game. It’s scary, his potential and ability.”