Delph seizing his opportunity as Mendy sits it out
BENJAMIN Mendy’s reaction to news he will miss much of the remainder of Manchester City’s season belied the severity of his injury.
The jovial Frenchman - who has made himself a firm favourite with fans thanks to his unguarded antics on Twitter - dealt with the fact his campaign has been cut short just as it was getting started with typical and refreshing - lack of drama.
“Bad news guys. I’ll be joining Injury FC on loan for a couple months with ruptured ACL... but will be back soon & stronger hopefully”, he tweeted after respected Barcelona-based surgeon Dr Ramon Cugat confirmed the news Pep Guardiola did not want to hear.
It led to immediate speculation the City boss would spend to bring in a replacement in January something he did little to dispell.
When Fabian Delph emerged as a short-term stop-gap, few expected it to be more than another example of Guardiola’s positional mixing and matching.
And not a particularly inspired one. Where were the kids coming through? Why had Pep not landed more back-up than the right-sided Danilo in the summer?
But Delph did more than just slot in. He shone.
The straight-talking Yorkshireman was never going to shirk the opportunity - it’s not in his nature.
And the way he has grasped it has been greeted almost as warmly as Mendy’s mix of unbridled enthusiasm and footballing excellence was before it.
There has been a genuine desire to see him succeed.
A smartly-taken goal against Crystal Palace last month - the game in which Mendy succumbed showed his midfield credentials.
But subsequent left-back duty against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, then a largely flawless contribution to a collective defensive masterclass in the victory over Chelsea, made observers believe Guardiola really did have the answer to his problem right under his nose.
Delph could have easily departed for more regular football at Stoke in the summer - and Guardiola would not have stood in his way.
But he has changed the demanding Catalan’s mind once in continuing his City stay.
And he may be in the process of doing it again in proving he can hack it as a left-back in a title-chasing team.
Potters midfielder Charlie Adam was thinking more about the former Aston Villa man than Stoke’s squad building when he advised Delph recently.
“I said ‘If you come to us you’ll enjoy it but why would you leave Man City? The amount of games they play, the injuries they get, you’re going to get an opportunity’.
“He’s still a young player. He’s probably not fulfilled the potential he showed at Villa and before that.”
Both Delph - assuming he has recovered from the knock that saw him withdraw from England duty and Guardiola may have cause to thank the Scot when they see him on Saturday afternoon.