Fit-again Delph can kick-start Man City career at Aston Villa lions den

Raheem Sterling has dazzled in flashes, Nicolas Otamendi is forging a formidable partnership with Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne has been brilliant. Even 18-year-old Patrick Roberts has impressed in European competition, albeit junior. Fabian Delph, though, has had just 21 minutes of action to show what he can do.

City’s summer signings are proving themselves to be astute pieces of business, despite the three headline arrivals costing around £140m between them. Delph, on paper, was perhaps the savviest of all; England internationals are not usually available for £8 million. While a release clause dictated that fee, a lengthy injury history would have played a part in any traditional negotiations.

If Tuesday night’s post-match antics at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan are anything to go by, though, he’s fighting fit once more.

Delph spent much of his early years at Villa Park on the treatment table, and it’s been a similar story at the Etihad so far. Having picked up a hamstring injury on his very first appearance, against Real Madrid in pre-season, he only returned against Everton on August 23; he was given a one-minute run-out. A week later he was given 15 minutes at the end of the defeat of Watford, before injuring his hamstring once more, less than a minute into an England match.

He may have made his latest return at Sevilla in midweek - a five-minute cameo - but it was the impression he made well after the final whistle which sent more of a statement of intent. During the post-match cool down, normally comprising a light jog around the pitch and some routine stretches, he and Gael Clichy, himself condemned to the sidelines for the start of the season, sprinted up and down the Andalusian turf and finishing with some amateur gymnastics in front of the travelling fans. It was a light-hearted and very welcome end to a brilliant night for the club.

Delph, clearly, is ready for action. It just so happens his next match is against Aston Villa. Even if he doesn’t get onto the pitch - he is not yet fit enough to start - he will get a fierce reception from the moment he rocks up at Villa Park. Fans of the club have not traditionally taken well to their heroes departing for pastures new. Ashley Young and Stewart Downing may have gone to Manchester United and Liverpool, but they were not spared the Villa fans’ wrath. City know all too well how vociferous the Midlanders can be, having recruited James Milner and Gareth Barry in recent years.

But Delph could perhaps be the most controversial of all. The twists and turns he produced this summer far outstripped his cartwheels on Wednesday; his decision to reject City, pledge his future to Villa, but then go back on his word again and sign on at the Etihad a week later, took even the most battle-hardened observers by surprise.

After plenty of talks - despite what was later claimed - the 25-year-old had been close to joining City the first time around, but got cold feet and informed Txiki Begiristain he would be staying at Villa.

"I'm aware there has been intense media speculation surrounding my future in the last 24 hours and I want to set the record straight,” he said in a statement, much to the delight of the Villa fans.

"I'm not leaving. I'm staying at the football club and I can't wait for the start of the season and captaining this great football club."

A week later he was gone. After a great deal of agonising – his partner was also due to give birth - and even some counsel from Micah Richards, he and his agent re-initiated contact with Begiristain and Manuel Pellegrini to see whether a move was still possible. It was, clearly, a difficult time in his life.

Not that that made any difference to Villa fans. His pre-season injury was celebrated by some, and he has been plagued by the dreaded snake emoji whenever he posts on Twitter or Instagram.

Pellegrini, though, was a picture of optimism when he compared the situation to Jesus Navas returning to his boyhood club - where he is still adored by locals.

"Maybe it is the same with Jesus Navas when we play against Sevilla," the City boss said on Friday.

Of course, Delph will be walking into the lions' den as he looks to kick-start his City career. Villa, too, will have Remi Garde - who spent time with Patrick Vieira at Carrington two years ago - in the dug-out for the first time as they look to get their first Premier League win in three months.

And it's not as if Delph will get an easy ride from his own team-mates, either. He comes back into the team with arguably more central options than ever; there are even question marks over where David Silva will fit in for the biggest games, given the success of the Fernando-Fernandinho-Yaya Toure trident in Seville. In a two-man midfield Delph has got it even tougher.

Pellegrini even admitted that a bench role is most likely: "For Delph... you have a different option in the midfield if things are not going quite right."

But as he works towards a first competitive start for this very competitive club, a run-out in front of a hostile crowd will be exactly what the doctor ordered. Hopefully those will be his final orders for some time.