Southampton are admirers of highly-rated Manchester City striker Liam Delap, according to The Sun journalist Tom Barclay.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's side have been linked with the 6 ft 1 teenager previously and Barclay reckons a loan move to St Mary's Stadium would make sense.

What's the latest news involving Delap?

According to The Sun, having signed his former City teammate, Gavin Bazunu, Southampton are also hoping to bring Delap to the South Coast, who new Saints head of senior recruitment Joe Shields will be very familiar with.

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Delap, described as 'exceptional' by Pep Guardiola, has played just six times for City, but his remarkable form for City's youth teams has seen him catch the eye, with 35 goals in 36 matches for the club's Under-23s.

Injuries restricted the 19-year-old to just three senior appearances last season, one of which was his Champions League debut in the group stages, but having returned to full fitness, Barclay reckons that he's ready to continue his development out on loan.

What did Barclay say about Southampton?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "All I can say on Delap is as I said a month ago, Southampton like him. Delap seems a player who's primed for a loan move, because I can't see him getting a chance at City, as much as they seem to like him, having bought [Erling] Haaland and [Julian] Alvarez, so maybe it's time for a loan move and Southampton need a forward.

"It makes a lot of sense, but I'm more putting two and two together."

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Do Southampton need a striker?

Hasenhuttl has already completed some shrewd business, with Bazunu, Mateusz Lis, Armel Bella-Kotchap Romeo Lavia and Joe Aribo.

But with less than four weeks until the new campaign gets underway, Southampton are light up front. Since the end of last season, Broja has returned to parent club Chelsea, while Shane Long has moved on following the expiration of his contract.

Adam Armstrong and Che Adams are the club's only two strikers, and the former has been linked with a loan move away from Southampton.

Whether Armstrong ends up being loaned out, though, Saints desperately need to bolster their options up front to give themselves the best chance of staying away from the bottom-three.