Teamtalk have reported that Fabian Delph could be on his way back to Elland Road for another loan, but what are our chances of re-signing our former midfield player?

Delph started his career at Leeds, but was sold to Aston Villa in the summer of 2009, with the young player taking the opportunity to play in the Premier League rather than being a part of our successful League One promotion campaign of the following season. He came back to us for a brief loan spell in 2012, but that came to an end when he sustained an ankle injury in a game at Coventry.

He then moved on to Manchester City at the end of the 2014/5 season, but his time there has been affected by a further couple of injuries, and he has struggled to hold down a regular starting place amongst such a multi-talented squad. He has made only four appearances in the current season, so it doesn’t look like Pep Guardiola sees Delph as a key part of his plans.

As Delph is now 27 he must be at a stage of his career when he wants regular first team football and he will no doubt be hoping for a recall to the national side, to add to the 9 England caps he has won so far. But it must be unlikely that he would come back to Leeds while we remain in the ‘Championship’.

West Bromwich Albion are another club currently linked with Delph, who would probably prefer to remain in the Premiership if he gets the chance. Then there is the issue of wages, as his current Manchester City contract must be way in excess of anything we can currently afford to pay, so a loan deal would be a non-starter unless the two clubs can come to an agreement, with City continuing to pay a sizeable chunk of his earnings.

And is another midfield player a priority during the current transfer window? We already have Bridcutt, Phillips and Vieira as combative central midfielders, and Garry Monk has already said that he wants to add another striker and a central defender to his squad during January. I think we also need a left back in case Taylor is tempted away.

You never know, as Delph is a Yorkshire lad, and there will always be the attraction of Leeds being the first club in his senior career. And there is the link of our current CEO being Ben Mansford, who used to be the player’s agent. But at the moment I would say that for the time being it’s likely that Delph will go elsewhere to further his career.

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