Aston Villa captain Fabian Delph is to undergo a medical and complete a move to Manchester City on Saturday.
The midfielder, who joined Villa from Leeds in 2009, signed a four-and-a-half year deal at Villa in January.
His future looked uncertain when Micah Richards, who moved from City to Villa this summer, said Delph had asked for his thoughts about the Sky Blues.
The 25-year-old did not travel with the Villa squad for their pre-season training camp in Portugal.
Delph helped Villa retain their Premier League status last season, making 28 league appearances, and also played a key role in their run to the FA Cup final, where they lost 4-0 to Arsenal.
On signing his new contract in January, the England international had said he intended to be at the club “for the long run”.
“There was no way I was going to bail out,” he said at the time.
“This is my club and I want to be here. That’s why I am committing my future.”
Editor’s Note: So with Fabian Delph set to move to the Etihad, this is a much needed home grown signing for Manchester City, with currently 3 on their books they need to sign 5 this summer to fulfill their home grown quota. If Delph is first then will Raheem Sterling be the next to follow – should both those names join then that means they would still need to sign 3 more players to fulfill the quota of 8, otherwise their squad would have to be filled up with academy players to plug any gaps.
But what if any repercussions does this have for England? – With Delph playing for Aston Villa he was assured first team football on a weekly basis and the player has certainly improved over the last 2 seasons after taking the opportunity fully but now he will have to compete with the array of talent at Manchester City which means a) it can halt his development and b) could cost him a starting place in the England team. The same concerns can also be said for Sterling. Ultimately talent will always shine through and if they are really good enough then they will play more often than not but I think both players are going to have to be prepared to warm the bench more than they have at their current clubs. This will be an interesting situation for both club and country during the season.
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