Left for £6m, now a 7-time trophy winner: Leeds star sealed a dream Elland Road exit - opinion

With Fabian Delph’s career slowly winding down, it’s easy to forget that the midfielder actually came through the academy system at Leeds United, and that it was at Elland Road where he really made his breakthrough into senior football.

All in all, he played 58 times for the Whites, before earning a high-profile £6m move to Villa in the summer of 2009.

His time at Villa Park saw him establish himself as a really Premier League quality midfielder, and it was no surprise that he eventually earned a call-up to the England squad, earning the first of his 20 senior caps back in September 2014 under Roy Hodgson.

But perhaps just like he might have seen Leeds, Delph used Villa as a stepping stone to bigger and betting things, with the club captain making a £8m move to Manchester City in the summer 0f 2015 – just a week after insisting he would stay put in the Midlands.

In his time at the Etihad, he won the Premier League twice in 2018 and 2019, and won four domestic cups too (one FA Cup and three League Cups).

It was no surprise to hear Pep Guardiola rave about him whilst the pair were both at the Etihad, hailing his role and influence behind-the-scenes.

The City boss said: “He gives us character. He is a real leader in the locker room, Fabian Delph. That’s why I always give credit to the players for what they do.”

He added: “Some guys, they only want to play in one position, ‘in the other one I am not comfortable’, so he’s a guy who always tries to help. Last season we didn’t play always with his voice in our locker room, so I am so satisfied, so happy for him. Especially for him.”

After slowly being phased out of the City first-team picture, Delph eventually made his way to Everton, where injuries have continued to blight him