Update: Man City could net summer transfer windfall amid double deal possibility News

Manchester City could profit from two Premier League transfers this summer

Manchester City have long been the standard-bearer for maximising their academy.

The Blues fielded three graduates in their first team for the weekend win over Crystal Palace with James McAtee, Nico O’Reilly and Rico Lewis in the side. Phil Foden could have made it four had he not been injured.

As well as promoting players into the senior set-up, City are masters at moving on youngsters for big fees. They have raked in millions in recent transfers by selling their young talent and quite often they get a second profit courtesy of sell-on clauses.

City regularly insert sell-ons into permanent exits and they provide the club with an income stream past the initial deal. Indeed this summer could see two transfers earn City cash.

The Blues sold Liam Delap and Taylor Harwood-Bellis last summer, netting £40million in the process. Delap joined Ipswich Town while Harwood-Bellis moved to Southampton permanently after their promotion to the top flight triggered a clause in the defender’s loan deal.

Both players are set to be back in the Championship next season with the Saints already relegated and Ipswich on the brink. Yet there is transfer interest in the pair, and City are in line to benefit.

Delap has been linked with a host of clubs having scored 12 top flight goals for the Tractor Boys in his first Premier League campaign. Manchester United have been touted as a possible destination while Chelsea, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest have been linked. And the 22-year-old looks set to move on from East Anglia.

The frontman could fetch in excess of £30million and any move above the £20million Ipswich shelled out for Delap last summer will earn City a windfall. The Blues, who have a buy-back agreement on the youngster that they are unlikely to pursue, had a 20 per cent sell on clause on any profit Ipswich make. That means that should he depart Portman Road for £30million, City will net £2million.

Harwood-Bellis, too, could be back in the top flight next season. West Ham and Crystal Palace have been linked with the 23-year-old. He has shown potential despite the Saints’ struggles while he made his England debut earlier in the season, scoring in a victory over the Republic of Ireland.

It is understood City inserted a sell-on into Harwood-Bellis’ move to the south coast meaning the Blues could again pick up a profit should the centre back move on this summer.

—